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Neuste Kommentare
Tangsir on Gegen den Chauvinismus Gaius on Gegen den Chauvinismus turandocht on Gegen den Chauvinismus Kamran on Gegen den Chauvinismus Time on Gegen den Chauvinismus Henk der Niederlände… on English news Shir o Xorshid on Gegen den Chauvinismus W. Caldonazzi on Gegen den Chauvinismus Pesare-Pârsig on Gegen den Chauvinismus Erwin Mahnke on Gegen den Chauvinismus jack on Gegen den Chauvinismus Isley Constantine on Gegen den Chauvinismus aron2201sperber on Gegen den Chauvinismus schwebchen on Gegen den Chauvinismus Jarpäli on Gegen den Chauvinismus —- Shir o Xorshid 4ever! —-
Protests Continue in Tabriz: Families of Prisoners Attacked .
The gathering of families of arrested political activists in Azerbaijan province on April 2 (the day of the Iranian Spring festival when Iranians traditionally picnic outside their homes) turned into a verbal and physical confrontation between them and security forces. The gatherings continued the next day, with no word from authorities on the conditions and fate of the detainees.
Meanwhile Amnesty International referred to the arrest of some seventy Azerbaijani citizens in Tabriz and twenty more in Urumieh and demanded their unconditional release while also requesting information on their whereabouts. In their interviews with RoozOnline, Azerbaijani activists said that they anticipate that if the Iranian government continues with its current approach the wave of protests against the deteriorating living conditions will grow throughout Azerbaijan’s cities and will lead to political demands.
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Stalemate in Lebanon amid Arab uprisings
As popular revolts continue to shake the Arab world, the political stalemate in Lebanon is unlikely to end soon because key players Syria and Saudi Arabia are busy on other fronts, analysts say.
“The situation is very tense in the region and everyone is waiting to see how the political landscape is going to change,” said Hilal Khashan, political science professor at the American University of Beirut.
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Israeli Official: New Missile-Defense System Shoots Down Palestinian Rocket
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More than 60 teenage girls groomed for sex by gangs of men in seaside town, reveals hushed-up police report
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Iranian man dies after setting himself on fire in Amsterdam
An Iranian man who set himself on fire in Amsterdam yesterday has died of his injuries.
The unidentified 36-year-old was aflame for more than two minutes, and all efforts by passersby to douse the fire were unsuccessful, until emergency personnel transferred him to the hospital.
His reported motive for the self-immolation was the Dutch government’s denial of his plea for asylum.
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Special Reports
Mystery murder in Sudan fans Gaza tensions
Reports that a Hamas arms buyer was killed in a mysterious explosion in Sudan has triggered speculation he was killed by Israelis seeking to block weapons being smuggled into the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip amid growing tension with the Jewish state.
The Al-Arabiya news network reported that the Hamas operative was one of two men killed when their car exploded on a highway 10 miles outside Port Sudan Tuesday night.
According to authorities in Khartoum, one of the men was Sudanese. Both had reportedly landed at Port Sudan’s airport less than an hour earlier and were driving into the city when the explosion occurred.
Read more
Dissidents: Secret factories making key parts for Iran nuclear program.
Iraq forces attack Iranian PMOI rebels at Camp Ashraf
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13011469
Turkey helps Iran avoid sanctions -Israel tells U.S.: cables
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/08/us-israel-turkey-wikileaks-idUSTRE7371U920110408?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
Hamas Announces Ceasefire
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/israel-and-palestinians/Hamas-Announces-Ceasefire-119461984.html
Iran exiles in Iraq claim dozens killed in camp attack.
Video starts after 25 seconds
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/04/08/iraq.iran.camp/index.html?section=cnn_latest
Explosions hit 3 gas pipelines in Iran, halt flow
http://www.ptinews.com/news/1497562_Explosions-hit-3-gas-pipelines-in-Iran–halt-flow-
Lawyer dismissed from faculty position for human rights work
Interesting part of this artikel.
After the disputed 2009 presidential election, Sharif represented many political and civil activists who were arrested. “It’s interesting. My dismissal letter is signed by Hojjatollah Mansouri, Head of University Administration. He was my student at some point and took two courses with me. He failed both courses. Now he signs my letter of dismissal,” Sharif said.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/apr/08/3033
US trains activists to evade security forces
The United States is training thousands of cell phone and Internet pro-democracy campaigners worldwide to evade security forces in what it calls a “cat-and-mouse game” with authoritarian governments.
http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaking-news-technology/us-trains-activists-to-evade-security-forces-20110408-1d7l6.html
Japanese Nuclear Crisis Renews International Safety Concerns: Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant to Open With International Oversight
Half a world away, another country, Iran, is also well known for earthquakes. Over the years, tens of thousands of people there have died in massive tremors.
Now, Iran is moving into the nuclear age. Its first nuclear power plant, located at Bushehr on the Persian Gulf coast, has been completed. It could begin operating soon.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/apr/1071.html
Und wir reden hier uber freedom of speech.
Malaysia: Non-Muslims who quote Qur’an can be arrested.
This is Sharia: non-Muslims are forbidden to speak negatively about Islam or the Qur’an, on pain of death. This is the impetus behind the Organization of the Islamic Conference’s attempts to compel the West to restrict free speech regarding Islam. “Reciting from Quran only allowed if it’s to understand religion,” from The Star, April 7 (thanks to all who sent this in):
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/04/malaysia-non-muslims-who-quote-quran-can-be-arrested.html
Iran: Inmate’s Letter Exposes Inhumane Conditions and Secret Executions in Mashad Prison
No Steps Taken by Judiciary to Address Gross Violations of International Standards
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/apr/1086.html
Iran slams Lebanon’s Hariri for recent statements against Iran
Iran attacked Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri today, calling his recent criticism of Iran “unfounded, deceitful and divisive.”
ISNA reports that Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast addressed Hariri’s statements today, saying: “Taking deceitful stances in the framework of U.S.-Zionist interests is not only against Lebanon’s interests but it also challenges the stability and independence of the region.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/apr/1084.html
Casualties Rise in Syria During Anti-Government Protests
Auch Syria geht langsam richtung burgerkrieg.
Protests heated up across the Middle East and North Africa Friday. The heaviest casualties were reported in Syria, where at least 36 people were killed, but battles continued in Libya and Iraqi government troops clashed with Iranian exiles.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/apr/1081.html
The Fresh Outlook Hat nicht verstanden das nur das eine corrupte Regime omgewechselt wird gegen ein anderes corruptes Regime.
“No state or political movement will remain unaffected”
2011 has brought with it a wave of democratic fervour that has already fundamentally reshaped the politics of the Middle East. In January, Tunisia marched to end President Ben Ali’s premiership and succeeded. In Egypt, hundreds of thousands took to the streets of Cairo calling for the deposition of President Hosni Mubarak and succeeded, while in Libya, revolutionaries continue to hold their own against leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s military might.
http://www.thefreshoutlook.com/index.php?action=newspaper&subaction=article&toDo=show&postID=4892
Iranian political prisoner pressured “to make false confession”
Vahid Talayi, a member of Mir Hossein Mousavi’s election campaign, is reportedly being pressured by his interrogators to confess that he has ties to the People’s Mojahedin Organization, the dissident exile group that the Islamic Republic views as a terrorist group and an archenemy.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/apr/1092.html
Iranian students hurl firebombs at Saudi embassy.
Scores of Iranian students have attacked the Saudi Arabian embassy with firebombs to protest the Gulf country’s role in cracking down on anti-government protesters in Bahrain.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110411/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_bahrain_1;_ylt=Aul79rAua81taP8k9yvZ3u35SpZ4
Man kan diese beide berichten zehen als ein bericht dar Iran mehr und mehr die confrontation zugt mit Saudi arabien.
Iranian MP says Iran must be on military alert
Ruhollah Hosseinian, a conservative Iranian MP says Iran must prepare its military forces to keep Saudi Arabia from approaching its borders.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/apr/1094.html
Iran Blames Pipeline Explosion on Western Enemies
Irgenwo ist was falsh gegangen, Israel ist vergessen, Ohne Israel keine anschlegen in Iran Hehehehehe
A member of the Iranian parliament has blamed Western “enemies” for a blast on Friday that hit a major gas pipeline near the holy city of Qom.
The head of the parliament’s national security committee, Parviz Sorouri told reporters on Sunday that Western-backed “terrorists” were aiming to bring insecurity to Iran’s national energy transfer routes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/world/middleeast/12iran.html
Iraq says Iran mujahedeen must leave by year end
Seit Nouri Kamel al-Malikieine Shiite die an der hand der Mullahs in Iran lauft,
Der Premier ist,hat er alles getan um der PMOI aus Irak zu entfernen
Es solte mich nicht ganz uberaschen als er trotzdem die zusagugen das die mitglieder
der PMOI nach ein land eigener wahl er doch diese leute im geheim nach Iran deportiert
Iraq said on Monday that the exiled Iranian opposition group People’s Mujahedeen of Iran (PMOI) must leave the country by the end of this year.
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/iraq-says-iran-mujahedeen-must-leave-end-20110411-112700-146.html
Massacre proves the dangers of Iran’s influence in Iraq
AS THE United States prepares to withdraw most, if not all, of its troops from
Iraq by year’s end, Iran’s pervasive influence in that country becomes an ever more worrisome concern. And now a deadly assault by Iraqi security forces on an Iranian opposition group living inside Iraq — an attack that Senator John Kerry rightly termed a massacre — ought to set off alarms in Washington about the subservience of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to the regime in Tehran.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2011/04/16/massacre_proves_the_dangers_of_irans_influence_in_iraq/
Muslim Jihad in Christian Ethiopia
Lessons for the West
Not only does last week’s jihadist rampage against Ethiopia’s indigenous Christians highlight the travails Christians encounter wherever Islam has a sizable population, but it offers several insights, including some which should concern faraway, secular nations with Muslim minorities. According to Fox News:
http://www.meforum.org/2867/jihad-ethiopia-christians
‘Arab Men Should Sexually Harass Israeli Woman As Resistance
Und die wollen frieden lieber gott eine frau spricht uber ander frauen.
Factory Workers On Strike In Southern Iran
Strikes and protests by Iranian workers are now spreading to large factories
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/apr/1105.html
Jailed student activists moved to solitary confinement
Jailed student activists Bahareh Hedayat and Mehdieh Golrou were reportedly moved to solitary confinement in Evin Prison on Saturday.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/jailed-student-activists-moved-solitary-confinement
Palestinenzer propaganda.
Because 27 Times Wasn’t Enough For This Man Of The Religion Of Peace
Father slits his daughter’s throat 28 times for the “crime” of becoming too Westerized:
httpv//www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQha05yV5XQ&feature=player_embedded
Diese hat die richtigen link
Because 27 Times Wasn’t Enough For This Man Of The Religion Of Peace
Father slits his daughter’s throat 28 times for the “crime” of becoming too Westerized:
http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQha05yV5XQ&feature=player_embedded
Syrian opposition says 200 killed in protests
Syria’s main human rights movement said the death toll from pro-democracy protests against President Bashar al-Assad had reached 200 and urged the Arab League to impose sanctions on the ruling hierarchy.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/apr/12/3038
17,000 appeal in support of directors Panahi and Rasoulov
More than 17,000 filmmakers, actors, writers and other personalities have already signed an appeal in support of acclaimed Iranian director Jafar Panahi and Mahamad Rasoulov who have been sentenced to six years in prison in addition to Panahi’s 20-year ban on filmmaking.
“These sentences are shameful, intolerable and unfitting for two film makers whose only ‘crime’ is to want to make films freely in their country,” says the petition.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/apr/11/3037
Sunnis and Shiites — Iran Has a Problem
The current Middle East mayhem is far from over. The situation is fluid in many countries, but one important interim conclusion is coming to the open, and it is positive: The Islamic Republic is not emerging victorious as the sectarian Sunni-Shiite schism seems to have a growing impact.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-josef-olmert/post_1938_b_848674.html
Iranian Journalist Charged Over ‘Unauthorized Blog’
Prominent Iranian journalist and human rights activist Zhila Baniyaghoub is facing a new criminal charge based on statements written on her blog, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports
Baniyaghoub’s trial at a still unspecified date will be her fourth since Iran’s controversial June 2009 presidential election.
Baniyaghoub was arrested in June 2009 during the postelection crackdown along with her husband, fellow journalist Bahman Amouee. She was released on bail after two months in detention.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/apr/1117.html
Saudi Ambassdor to Egypt threatens Iran with military action
Following are excerpts from an interview with Saudi Ambassador to Egypt, Ahmad Al-Qattan, which was aired on Al-Hayat TV (Egypt), on April 10, 2011:
Ambassador Al-Qattan: Discussing Bahrain leads us to talk about Iran. We in Saudi Arabia, and particularly the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (i.e. Saudi king), since the time he was Crown Prince, have made great efforts to extend our hand in brotherly love, in every possible way.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/apr/13/3040
Influence Curtailed: Democracy in the Arab World Stands to Strip Iran of Its Power
Iranian leaders have tried to portray the Arab uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt within their revolutionary 1979 framework, casting them as successes of their revolution export policy. However, Islamists like Rachid Al-Ghannouchi in Tunisia have claimed the opposite; Al-Ghannouchi does not want to be Tunisia’s Khomeini, nor his model of government. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt also made clear that the revolution in Egypt was not an Islamic event and that all of Egypt’s citizens have participated. This was made abundantly clear by the slogans and signs heard and seen throughout Tahrir Square. What is clear from this is that the Islamic Republic fears the failure of Islamist ideology over true democratic discourse.
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC06.php?CID=1609
Hospital officials: Iraqi forces forcibly removed Iranian dissidents from hospital
Iranian dissidents wounded in last week’s in clashes with Iraqi soldiers have been forcibly removed from their hospital beds and returned to their camp, two hospital workers said Wednesday.
At least 17 patients, some of whom were described by a doctor as in critical condition at Baqouba public hospital, were taken back to Camp Ashraf in Iraq’s eastern Diyala province late Tuesday by security forces.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/hospital_officials_iraqi_forces_forcibly_removed_iranian_dissidents_from_hospital/2011/04/13/AFT7C5WD_story.html?wprss=rss_world
Tunesische fluchtlinge auf frauenvergewaligungstour in Italien.
Die “Flüchtlinge” von Lampedusa achten darauf, dass ihnen der Ruf vorauseilt, als Moslemkater (frei nach dem australischen Scheich Al-Hilali), der vom Frischfleisch nicht lassen kann. Man fragt sich unweigerlich, ob denn Cem Özdemir oder Edathy ihre eigenen Frauen und Töchter einsperren, wenn sie diese Vergewaltiger-Flüchtlinge ins Land holen:
http://www.kybeline.com/2011/04/14/tunesische-fluchtlinge-auf-frauenvergewaltigungstour-in-italien/#more-22760
Political prisoners urge UN Secretary General to send special rapporteur
A group of political prisoners held at Iran’s Rajaei-Shahr prison have urged the Secretary General of the United Nations to send a special envoy to Iran to investigate the situation of human rights and freedom in the country, in particular the state of Iran’s prison and political prisoners.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/apr/16/3052
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Iranian parliamentary elections set for next March
Nord Koreanische zustanden bei die nachste wahlen am Martz 2012
Iran’s next parliamentary elections are set for March 2, 2012, the interior ministry has announced. The parliament also passed a law today requiring that parliamentary candidacy be restricted to people with e post-graduate degrees. Former MPs are exempted from this condition.
The Guardian Council, which gives a final review to laws passed by the parliament, had previously rejected a similar bill for requiring parliamentary candidates to hold graduate degrees, saying it violated paragraphs 8 and 9 of Article 3 of the constitution.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iranian-parliamentary-elections-set-next-march
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Syria and Iran’s similar ways in dealing with protesters
On Wednesday a Syrian opposition and non-governmental organization that has been working for freedom of speech in this country, has disclosed a confidential document belonging to Syrian Intelligence Service. According to 30mail News agency, this confidential document reveals the Syrian governmental force’s methods of dealing with protesters which is extremely similar with Iranian government’s methods.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/apr/1156.html
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Former Iranian president criticizes continued crackdown on opposition
Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami spoke out against the continued detainment of opposition figures and protesters, and criticized the government for failing to resolve the “extraordinary situation” of the past two years.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/apr/1151.html
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Mixed Signals in Iran Over Spy Chief’s Status
Iran’s intelligence minister offered his resignation from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government Sunday, but in an apparent high-level political dispute, Iran’s top leader ordered the minister to remain in his post.
The conflicting signals over Heidar Moslehi suggested another point of friction between Mr. Ahmadinejad and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over control of key posts.
Mr. Khamenei, who has the last word on all important decisions, is considered a supporter of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s government but has stepped in before to overrule him on political appointments.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704204604576268841369851606.html?mod=fox_australian
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Khamenei Was No Ordinary Baby, Cleric Says
While most babies cry after they are born, Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the name of the first Imam of the Shi’a as he was about to be born. That’s according to Ayatollah Mohammad Saeedi, the Friday Prayer leader of the Iranian holy city of Qom.
In a video that’s making the rounds and was reportedly aired on Iranian state television, Saeedi tells his audience an anecdote about the birth of Khamenei. He says Khamenei’s half-sister has said that the midwife who was helping Khamenei’s mother give birth told her that when Khamenei was about to leave his mother’s body, he said, “Ya Ali,” to which the midwife responded, “May Ali protect you.”
F*cking Idiots
http://www.rferl.org/content/persian_letters_khamenei_was_no_ordinary_baby/3558131.html
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Ahmadinejad Accuses U.S. Of Creating Iran-Arab Tension
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has accused the United States of wanting to create tension between Iran and Arabs, saying the attempt would fail.
Ahmadinejad’s comments came in a speech at the annual Army Day parade broadcast live on national television.
On April 17, Gulf Arab states accused Iran of interfering in their affairs.
At a meeting in Riyadh, ministers from the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — called on Iran to stop its “provocations.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/ahmadinejad_accuses_us_of_creating_iran_arab_tension/4747392.html
Iran’s Nobel Laureate Ebadi Warns Of Unrest Among Ethnic Arabs In Iran
Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi has warned the United Nations of the possible spread of unrest in Iran’s Khuzestan Province, home to most of the country’s ethnic Arab minority.
Iranian officials have praised street demonstrations across the Arab world as an “Islamic awakening” but themselves have used force against Iranian protesters who have taken to the streets to demonstrate for democracy and human rights.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_nobel_ebadi_warns_unrest_ethnic_arabs_in_iran/9498400.html
Holy Man
Caricatur
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/holy-man
University students chant ‘Death to dictator’ during talk by former Ahmadinejad minister
Students at a university in Tehran have overshadowed a planned lecture by Ahmadinejad’s former Culture Minister by chanting “Death to the dictator,” according to a report.
According to opposition website Daneshjoo News, student at Tehran’s Azad University (north branch) disrupted a planned speech by Hossein Saffar-Harandi, a former Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Ahmadinejad’s cabinet.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/apr/19/3058
Khatami calls for swift release of green leaders
Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami has once more expressed his dismay over the on-going illegal house arrest of Green Movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi.
According to pro-opposition RASA television, in a meeting with Karroubi’s son Ali Karroubi on Tuesday, Khatami recounted Karroubi’s outstanding bravery before the revolution and praised his role during the reform years (1997-2005) as “the brave son of the revolution.”
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/apr/21/3065?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+irangreenvoice%2FEn+%28Iran+Green+Voice+-+English%29
Gulf Arabs oppose cut in Iran ties: Kuwait FM
Arab states in the Gulf are opposed to a break in relations with neighbouring Iran, Kuwait’s foreign minister said on Thursday, even as he renewed charges of Iranian meddling in Arab affairs.
“Cutting off ties (with Iran) is something totally rejected by us,” Sheikh Mohammed Sabah al-Salem Al-Sabah said in an interview with Dubai-based Al-Arabiya news channel.
However, Kuwait’s chief diplomat accused the Islamic republic of interfering in the internal affairs of its Arab neighbours, including efforts to topple the regime in Bahrain and plots to carry out attacks in Kuwait.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/gulf-arabs-oppose-cut-iran-ties-kuwait-fm-173101462.html
Rats, Roaches and Shiites
I’m not arguing that Shiites have a lot in common with rodents and insects. But you wouldn’t know it by watching Bahrainis and Saudis snuff them out with barely a peep from Western and majority-Sunni Arab nations, both.
Shia-majority Iran, Iraq and the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah have been the most vocal in condemning the outrageous killings, arrests and beatings of Shiites in the Persian Gulf — but they have had to do so with a muffled voice. Each objection from Iran or Hezbollah unleashes a barrage of opportunistic rants by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the U.S. about “Iranian interference” and expansionism.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sharmine-narwani/bahrain-protests-shiites_b_851237.html
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Norway blasts ‘grotesque’ hike in Iran public executions
Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere on Thursday blasted a sharp hike in public executions in Iran and the high use of the death penalty in the country.
“The increased number of public executions using brutal methods such as suffocation by being hoisted up by a crane are particularly grotesque and not worthy of a modern society,” Stoere said in a statement.
He added Norwegian research showed Iran had executed 15 people in public so far this year, compared to 19 for all of last year.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/apr/22/3070?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+irangreenvoice%2FEn+%28Iran+Green+Voice+-+English%29
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Freedom on the Net 2011 – IRAN RANKS LAST
A new 410-page report published earlier this week by Freedom House, an American NGO, looked at 37 countries around the world to examine how open and free the Internet is in terms of filtering, censorship and other forms of repression online. The study found that Iran was the least free country, as it has high levels of oppressive policies, like intimidating and even in some cases jailing people for what they write online.
http://www.irannewsdigest.com/2011/04/21/freedom-on-the-net-2011-iran-ranks-last/
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Iranian blogger: ‘Hell’ and ‘hopelessness’ in his country
Recent protests in Iran have failed to gain traction — despite growing demonstrations in neighboring countries and Iran’s own 2009 massive protest movement.
What’s the status of the Iranian opposition movement, what challenges does it face and could a regime change ever happen peacefully? A blogger from Iran weighs in.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/04/21/qanda.iran.blogger/
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Websites supporting Ahmadinejad filtered in Iran
At least four Iranian websites known to support Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have been filtered by the Islamic Republic Internet Filtering Commission.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/apr/1209.html
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The Latest Enemies of Iran: Dogs and Their Owners
For much of the past decade, the Iranian government has tolerated what it considers a particularly depraved and un-Islamic vice: the keeping of pet dogs.
During periodic crackdowns, police have confiscated dogs from their owners right off the street; and state media has lectured Iranians on the diseases spread by canines. The cleric Gholamreza Hassani, from the city of Urmia, has been satirized for his sermons railing against “short-legged” and “holdable” dogs. But as with the policing of many other practices (like imbibing alcoholic drinks) that are deemed impure by the mullahs but perfectly fine to many Iranians, the state has eventually relaxed and let dog lovers be.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2065873,00.html#ixzz1KHswHazy
UN, West condemn Syria after 75 killed in protests
Ondertussen in Syrie gaat het ook steeds beter.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon joined western leaders in condemning Damascus after Syrian forces killed at least 75 people during “Good Friday” protests in one of the bloodiest days of a month-long uprising.
The deaths signalled no let-up from President Bashar al-Assad, whose forces used live ammunition and tear gas against demonstrators in several towns and cities nationwide, witnesses and activists told AFP by telephone.
The bloodshed erupted as thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in order to test long sought-after freedoms one day after Assad scrapped decades of draconian emergency rule.
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/un-west-condemn-syria-after-75-killed-in-protests-20110423-1drz3.html
Missing’ Iranian Lawyer ‘Detained In Northwest’
The legal representative of a prominent Iranian human rights lawyer, believed missing for two weeks, now says he has been found detained at an Intelligence Ministry facility in northwestern Iran, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Mohammad Seifzadeh was sentenced to nine years in jail in October for “acting against national security” by setting up the Center for Human Rights Defenders, which he co-founded with Nobel Peace Prize-winner Shirin Ebadi and two other lawyers.
http://www.rferl.org/content/missing_iran_lawyer_detained/9503713.html
Pakistani Gang-Rape Victim ‘Shocked’ At Acquittals In Case
The Pakistani woman whose fight for justice following a gang rape shot her to international fame has expressed shock at a Supreme Court ruling acquitting five men accused of the crime, RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal reports.
Mukhtar Mai was gang-raped in 2002 on the orders of a Punjab village assembly of elders, or Panchayat, to settle an honor dispute after her younger brother was accused of a relationship with a woman from a powerful family in the village.
http://www.rferl.org/content/pakistan_gang-rape_victim_shocked_at_acquittals/9502736.html
Iran on edge as ally Syria fights for survival.
When Syria’s president visited Iran late last year, he received a heroes’ medal and spoke about unbreakable bonds in a ceremony broadcast on national television.
Now, a nervous leadership in Iran has imposed a media blackout on Bashar Assad’s struggle against a swelling Syrian uprising and Tehran faces the unsettling prospect of losing its most stalwart ally in the region.
The Islamic Republic managed to choke off its homegrown “Green Revolution” after the disputed June 2009 presidential election. But now it is being dragged into the uprisings sweeping across the Middle East and stirring unrest in Syria, and unfriendly neighbor Bahrain.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hwY795kg27dzUCLPfjmQqEGkJTmg?docId=6a6231b3176949e49aeae6da3e4176da
Iran’s Ahmadinejad in new showdown with conservatives
Iran is bracing for a fresh showdown between supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and some conservatives as simmering tensions build in the run-up to the March 2012 parliamentary election.
The aborted resignation of Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi set off a conservative storm against the president’s entourage, with the focus on his chief of staff and key adviser Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie.
On April 17, Iranian media announced Moslehi, close to all-powerful supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been dismissed after he tried to sack one of his deputies, who reportedly has close ties to Mashaie.
But minutes later, Ayatollah Khamenei, who holds the ultimate authority in the country, personally intervened to overturn the dismissal.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110424/wl_mideast_afp/iranpoliticsparliamentelection_20110424124806;_ylt=AvLLrVjK8OqbMRN0a3IwzLn5SpZ4
Iran ‘uncovers Stars espionage virus’
Officials in Iran say they have found a computer virus designed to target the country’s government institutions.
The malicious software – dubbed Stars – was capable of inflicting minor damage, according to the head of Iran’s civil defence organisation.
If the reports are accurate, it would be the second major attack in a year.
The recently discovered Stuxnet worm is thought to have been created to take control of equipment used in Iran’s nuclear programme.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13188351
Shirin Ebadi: Iran’s Democratic Movement ‘Well Alive’
Incl. Video.
Human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi discusses the impact of the Arab Spring on the democratic movement in Iran with Isobel Coleman, Director of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Initiative.
http://www.cfr.org/iran/shirin-ebadi-irans-democratic-movement-well-alive/p24761?cid=rss-iran-shirin_ebadi__iran_s_democrati-042511&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+region%2Firan+%28CFR.org+-+Regions+-+Iran%29
Three Americans to stand trial in Iran mid May
Three Americans imprisoned in Iran are to stand trial on May 11. The lawyer of the three US nationals, Massoud Shafiei told ISNA that Iranian Foreign Ministry has issued summons for Sarah Shourd, one of the prisoners released last year, to appear in the court.
Shafiei said he has failed to meet the two other clients although the judge in charge of the case has agreed with the demand for meeting.
“A citation was issued for me stressing my presence in the trial session,” he continued.
Iran released Sarah Shourd last September on a $500,000 bail.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/apr/1235.html
Concern for life of detained Iranian rights lawyer
Mohammad Seifzadeh, an Iranian lawyer detained two weeks ago, is under severe pressure from the Islamic Republic authorities and his life is in danger, according to his attorney.
Marzieh Nikara, Seifzadeh’s attorney told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that she is unable to gain information regarding her client’s case, and the authorities have not yet allowed her to read his file.
Nikara told the Campaign: “Unfortunately, when I went to the Orumiyeh Intelligence Office with Mr. Seifzadeh’s son on 23 April, they did not allow me to visit with my client. I don’t even know on what day and where exactly he was detained, and I wasn’t allowed to read his file, either. Only his son was allowed to see him for about two minutes. He said his father has lost a lot of weight, he was limping, and that it was quite clear he was under stress.”
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/concern-life-detained-iranian-rights-lawyer
Iran threatens direct military intervention in Bahrain and Yemen
A senior Iranian commander underlined the need for Iran to
continue support for the oppressed people in the region, and said that
Tehran should play a more direct role in supporting the popular uprising in
Bahrain.
Commander of Iran’s Basij (volunteer) Forces Brigadier General Mohammad Reza
Naqdi said enemy is seeking to busy Iran with internal issues in a bid to
make the Islamic republic stop its spiritual support for the oppressed
regional nations.
He condemned enemies for such efforts, and warned that Iran’s enemies “are
trying to restrict us to internal issues in such a dangerous time when the
oppressed nations need the Islamic Republic’s assistance”.
He added that the Islamic Revolution in Iran belongs to all the Muslim and
oppressed people of the world, and warned that enemies are trying to make
Iran instable domestically to hinder its active role in the region.
http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=52068
Why Is Ahmadinejad Sulking?
Innerhalb das Regime kommen immer wieder rissen
There seem to be increasing tensions between Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.
The source of the most recent friction is last week’s aborted “resignation” of Iran’s Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi, who was reportedly dismissed by Ahmadinejad but quickly reinstated by Khamenei.
In the latest sign of the dispute, presidential media adviser Ali Akbar Javanfekr, who is also the managing editor of IRNA, Iran’s official news agency, was summoned to court.
http://www.rferl.org/content/ahmadinejad_khamenei_tensions_iran/9505457.html
Iran, Iraq sign extradition deal
Iran and Iraq have signed an accord to extradite “convicts and criminals” wanted by the two neighbours, state television’s website and newspapers reported on Monday.
Justice Minister Morteza Bakhtiari and his visiting Iraqi counterpart Hassan al-Shammari signed the agreement late on Sunday, Aftab-e Yazd newspaper said.
According to state television’s website, the agreement will allow the “repatriation of convicts and criminals, including those who have fled their country, to stand trial and await implementation of their sentence.”
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/apr/25/3080
No.1 US priority in Middle East: regime change in Iran
Change in Iran would transform the region as a whole and is a goal on which virtually all US allies agree. So why is Obama so reticent to take a strong stance? Freedom cannot be won through timidity. Here are several key steps for a US-led effort to help make the regime crack.
The popular uprisings sweeping the Middle East are breathtaking and apparently far from over. After decades of paralysis and ossification, the entire Middle Eastern landscape is changing before our eyes.
With the rapidity of events unfolding throughout the region, attention has been diverted from Iran. But Iran has all the same elements that have brought about the uprisings in the Arab world – even more so.
Iran’s burgeoning young population is as large as anywhere in the region and actually far more educated and involved in globalization and worldwide social and political trends. As with the restless young populations of other parts of the region, Iran’s youth suffer from the same dire unemployment, lack of opportunity, and suffocating oppression.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/0427/No.1-US-priority-in-Middle-East-regime-change-in-Iran?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fcsm+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+%7C+All+Stories%29
Tehran squirms as crackdown by ally Syria creates global uproar.
Iranian officials and state-run media for as long as they could have turned a blind eye to the weeks-long unrest in Syria. But as the turbulence in Syria and international outrage over the hundreds killed gain momentum, many Iranian diplomats, pundits and academics can evade the question no longer.
In an interview on Iran’s Arabic-language Alam TV on Saturday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast, unable to sidestep addressing the concerns about unrest in Syria, vaguely and tactfully stated that Iran respected the sovereignty of other countries.
But then, in a turn of boldness that many consider hypocritical, he subtly advised the Syrian regime to give in to democratic demands that Iran has long denied its own people.
“We respect the demands of [Syria’s] people,” he said. “We consider the use of violence againt the people of any country unacceptable. We call on all regional regimes to address the demands of their people.”
Indeed, officials in Iran are nervously watching the uprising in Syria more closely than they would like to admit.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/04/iran-syria-uprising-responses-violence-human-rights-.html
In Shift, Egypt Warms to Iran and Hamas, Israel’s Foes.
Ook Egypte begint zich nou een sterke macht te voelen tegenover Israel nu Iran duidelijk heeft gemaakt dat ze geruggesteund worden door het Regime.
Egypt is charting a new course in its foreign policy that has already begun shaking up the established order in the Middle East, planning to open the blockaded border with Gaza and normalizing relations with two of Israel and the West’s Islamist foes, Hamas and Iran.
Egyptian officials, emboldened by the revolution and with an eye on coming elections, say that they are moving toward policies that more accurately reflect public opinion. In the process they are seeking to reclaim the influence over the region that waned as their country became a predictable ally of Washington and the Israelis in the years since the 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/29/world/middleeast/29egypt.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
Iran Suddenly Turns Silent As Protests Spread In Syria
Iran’s government celebrated the popular uprisings first in Tunisia, then in Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen. But when protests began in Syria, Iran turned uneasy and uncertain.
Syria is one of Iran’s few real allies in the Arab Middle East, and Tehran has carefully cultivated a relationship with the ruling Assad family for more than 30 years.
If Syria’s President Bashar Assad falls, Iran can no longer count on Syria. And among other benefits, the Syrian connection is crucial for Iran’s relationship with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Bruce Riedel, a Middle East analyst at the Brookings Institution’s Saban Center, notes that for Iran, it is no longer a simple matter of praising the people in the streets and condemning their rulers.
“If the Syrian government is toppled, in a revolution like Egypt’s or Tunisia’s, Iran will be the big loser, and the Iranian intelligence services will have lost a key ally in their ability to project power in the Middle East,” Riedel says.
http://www.npr.org/2011/04/29/135804964/iran-suddenly-turns-silent-as-protests-spread-in-syria?ft=1%26f=1009
Amnesty: Iran steps up rate of public executions
Iran has sharply stepped up its use of public executions, hanging 13 men this year, nearly as many as in all of 2010, in an attempt to intimidate its citizens, Amnesty International said on Wednesday.
Eight of the hangings have taken place since mid-April, including two juveniles convicted for a rape and murder committed when they were 17, the human rights group said.
“It is deeply disturbing that despite a moratorium on public executions ordered in 2008, the Iranian authorities are once again seeking to intimidate people by such spectacles which not only dehumanize the victim, but brutalize those who witness it,” said Amnesty official Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/apr/29/3086
Bahrain chamber urges boycott of Iranian goods
Bahrain’s chamber of commerce called on Gulf Arab nationals to boycott Iranian goods and halt financial transactions with Tehran, accusing it of interfering in the country’s affairs, state media said.
Bahrain has blamed Iran for stoking Shi’ite-led protests calling for democratic reforms and an end to sectarian discrimination in the Sunni-led island kingdom.
“A call has gone out today to boycott Iranian goods, in retaliation to Tehran’s flagrant interference in Bahrain’s internal affairs and non-respect of its independence and sovereignty,” Bahrain’s state news agency reported.
“Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry has also urged all Gulf Cooperation Council nationals to follow suit and boycott Iranian merchants,” it added.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110501/ts_nm/us_bahrain_iran_boycott_1
Für Henk!
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2011/05/thank-you.html
& as a special:
Sehr herzlichen dank Jack
Ab und zu thut es gut um ein bischen bedankt zu werden
Es geht wieder los, grosse und kleine Satan gehen wieder gegen Iran.
Wie blohde kann man sein
Iran’s Press TV Suggests Israeli Military Buildup In Iraq
A report from Iranian state television suggests Israel has been gathering military aircraft at a U.S. air base in Iraq in preparation for an attack on the Islamic republic.
Iran’s Press TV sourced the report to an unnamed person believed close to prominent Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_press_tv_suggests_israeli_military_buildup_in_iraq/16800615.html
Iran’s top torturer aiding Syrian regime in clampdown.
Er ist Jetzt nog ein grosser mann denkt er aber auch seine zeit komt noch
As the dictatorship in Syria steps up efforts to quell to the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s autocratic rule, a source inside Ahmadinejad’s administration told the Green Voice of Freedom that a security delegation has been offering expertise and assistance to the autocratic regime in Damascus.
Amidst the intensification of repressions against anti-government protesters in Syrian, an informed source inside the Iranian administration has told the Green Voice of Freedom that Deputy Chief of Iran’s National Police, Ahmad-Reza Radan was part of a security delegation that visited the Syrian capital two weeks ago.
“The meeting between Brigadier-General Ahmad Reza Radan Ahmad-Reza Radan, the Deputy Chief of Iran’s Police with Syrian security officials took place two weeks ago, when the crackdown on protesters opposing the rule of Bashar Assad was intensified,” the source told GVF on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/may/02/3095
Yemen and Syria pose a greater threat to us than Libya
With the anti-government protests in Syria and Yemen becoming more ugly by the day, I am increasingly of the view that, by launching military action against Libya, we may actually have managed to target the wrong country.
I fully concede that Moammar Gadhafi and his dysfunctional family should be removed from power at the earliest opportunity. But these days they can hardly be said to pose a serious threat to our security, having surrendered their investment in nuclear proliferation and international terrorism many years ago.
http://www.delta-optimist.com/news/Yemen+Syria+pose+greater+threat+than+Libya/4497968/story.html?id=4497968
Iran ‘predator’ of press freedom, says Reporters Without Borders
The Paris-based media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders has included Iran in its annual list of countries it considers as “predators” of press freedom, including political leaders, criminal organisations and militias from across the world.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/may/03/3103?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+irangreenvoice%2FEn+%28Iran+Green+Voice+-+English%29
Auch von mir ein großes Dankeschön Henk. In diese Sektion kann man sich schnell und umfassend über die aktuelle Entwicklung in Iran informieren.
U.S. Hiker Sarah Shourd Won’t Attend Iran Trial.
Sarah Shourd, the U.S. woman who was released by Iran after being detained with two fellow American hikers in 2009, has said she will not return there to stand trial.
Shourd, freed on bail in September after 14 months imprisonment following international pressure, said she had been diagnosed with severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder from solitary confinement.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_us_hiker_sarah_shourd_trial/24091900.html
Analysts: Fallout of Syrian Violence Ripples in Lebanon
For seven weeks, protesters have taken to the streets across Syria, demanding reform and calling for the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad. The government has reacted harshly, opening fire on protesters – allegedly killing dozens of them – and arresting hundreds of people. Analysts say the challenge to the Syrian regime could have a serious ripple effect in the region, particularly in Lebanon and Iran.
Syria’s influence is perhaps felt the strongest in Lebanon, where the two countries have had a sometimes rocky relationship. But Beirut has been notably silent since Damascus started cracking down on protesters.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Analysts-Fallout-of-Syrian-Violence-Ripples-in-Lebanon-121264129.html
Karun Prison, where line between humanity & barbarity are blurred
In a heart breaking, open letter written to Mohammad Javad Ardeshir Larijani, the Head of the Human Rights Council for Iran’s Judiciary and top adviser to the Supreme Leader, Ziya Nabavi incarcerated student, deprived of the right to an education, paints a gut wrenching picture of the inhumane and unbearable conditions at Karun prison in the city of Ahvaz, stating that never before in his life had he heard about, read about or experienced anything quite like it.
Zia Nabavi was arrested on the night of June 14th, 2009, protesting the rigged presidential elections. He was sentenced to 15 years prison and sent to exile at Karun prison in January 2010 by the 26th branch of the Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Pir Abbasi. His sentence was later reduced to 11 years by the Appeals Court; a sentence that is shocking given Ziya’s calm and rational nature and given that his only crime was to stand up for students deprived of the right to an education. Ziya was also charged with collaboration with the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO – a terrorist organization in exile) and as a result sent to exile in Karun, a charge that he has vehemently and repeatedly denied to date. Zia has also expressed his aversion for the MKO on numerous occasions.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/may/05/3108?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+irangreenvoice%2FEn+%28Iran+Green+Voice+-+English%29
ANALYSIS – Experts sceptical on new Iran “cyber attack” claim
More than a week after Iran said it had been the victim of another cyber attack by its enemies, foreign computer experts say they have seen no evidence, and some doubt its existence.
On April 25, the commander of Iran’s civil defence agency, Gholamreza Jalali, told the semi-official Mehr news agency that experts were probing a virus they called “Stars”, but gave no details of its apparent target or intended impact.
Last year, Iran said computers at its first nuclear plant had been infected with the Stuxnet computer worm, widely believed to have been designed by a foreign intelligence agency to attack its nuclear program.
Stuxnet — believed to work by corrupting the plant’s industrial processes to cause physical damage — spread around the world, allowing computer experts to analyse it and close programming holes to halt its spread.
In contrast, no one at any of the range of anti-virus firms, technology consultancies and think tanks contacted by Reuters had any further details of “Stars”.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/analysis-experts-sceptical-iran-cyber-attack-claim-145829058.html
Islamic Republic tightens grip on political prisoners
Another year has been added to the 11-year prison term handed to Iranian journalist and human rights activist Abolfazl Abedini. The Iranian Human Rights News Agency (RHANA) reports that an extra year was added to Abedini’s sentence for “propaganda against the regime.”
Abedini is already serving an 11-year sentence for the same charge.
Abedini was arrested in the summer of 2009 and released on bail that November. He was arrested again in December of 2009 and transferred to the notorious section 2A of Evin Prison.
He was later transferred to Ahvaz prison in Southwestern Iran where he was denied any visiting or telephone privileges. According to several reports by human rights activists, Abedini has been subjected to beatings in jail.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1042.html
Mujahedeen could come off US blacklist: official
Es sieht aus das die USA zich mehr und mehr beschefticht mit das problem Iran
Washington will decide within six months whether to remove the banned Iranian opposition People’s Mujahedeen from a terrorism blacklist, a US State Department official told lawmakers Thursday.
“We are working as expeditiously as possible to complete a review” on the issue, Daniel Benjamin, coordinator for counter-terrorism at the US State Department, told a congressional hearing.
Asked how long it would take, the diplomat responded that the review should be completed in “less than six months.”
The People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, also known as the Mujahedeen-e Khalq Organization, figures on the US watch list, but was removed from a list of 50 banned militant groups compiled by the European Union in January 2009.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110506/pl_afp/usiranpoliticsdiplomacy_20110506182327
Watch: Iran’s Power Struggle: Rift Between Leaders
http://abcnews.go.com/International/video/irans-power-struggle-rift-leaders-13545812?tab=9482931§ion=1206828&playlist=&page=1
Stop Persecution of Protestant Church in Iran
Christian Pastors and Churchgoers Sentenced to Death and Imprisonment
Religious Practices and Proselytizing Treated as Criminal Acts
(4 May 2011) Iranian authorities should end the judicial persecution of members of the evangelical protestant Church of Iran and other churches, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.
Specifically, the Campaign appeals to Iran’s Judiciary to overturn criminal sentences of church members including a death sentence for Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani and prison term for Pastor Behrouz Sadegh-Khanjani.
“Iranian authorities must stop targeting religious groups and practices they find threatening, acts which violate international and Iranian law,” said Aaron Rhodes, a spokesperson for the Campaign.
“It is deeply hypocritical to criticize European countries for discriminatory policies against Muslims while the Iranian government throws Christians and members of other minority religions into prison and sentences some to death,” Rhodes added.
During the 16th special session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, in April 2011, the Iranian government criticized the EU and US for discrimination against religious minorities. On 12 April 2011, Iran’s Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini said, “We expect European countries to guarantee the individual and social freedoms of Muslims,” according to the state-controlled PressTV.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1055.html
Analysis: Row between Iranian leaders comes to a head
Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has enjoyed taking on and defying the West. But he is now playing potentially a much more risky game.
Mr Ahmadinejad finds himself up against his own country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The two men are currently engaged in an unusually public stand-off.
Their argument began on 17 April, when Mr Ahmadinejad decided to fire his Intelligence Minister, Heydar Moslehi. A simple decision, say the president’s supporters, since the constitution gives him the right to dismiss ministers.
But, several hours later Ayatollah Khamenei decided to overrule the president and ordered the reinstatement of Mr Moslehi.
The Supreme Leader’s supporters quote Article 110 of the constitution, which says that the leader is responsible for the “supervision over the proper execution of the general policies”.
Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
[Mr Ahmadinejad] is in pain, as if a thorn is stuck in his throat. He cannot take it out or swallow in”
End Quote
Ali Akbar Javanfekr
Ahmadinejad aide
But Mr Ahmadinejad did not like being overruled. Reports say that he decided to stay away from government meetings for 11 days.
During this time, one of his aides, Ali Akbar Javanfekr, wrote on his blog that the president “is in pain, as if a thorn is stuck in his throat”, adding: “He cannot take it out or swallow in.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13312907
Hardliner attacks Ahmadinejad chief of staff
Hardline cleric Ahmad Khatami dealt Mahmoud Ahmadinejad some harsh criticism for his failure to heed the decisions of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
The senior member of the Assembly of Experts and Tehran’s current Friday Mass leader told the conservative publication Shoma that Ahmadinejad must be cautious of a “deviatory movement” close to the president.
Khatami said the clergy has deep reservations about the president’s chief of staff, Esfanidar Rahim Mashai. He maintained that the clergy has refrained from emphasizing its objections because Ayatollah Kahmenei has urged the establishment to put its concerns in priority.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/hardliner-attacks-ahmadinejad-chief-staff
Das ist doch nicht der Islam und das sind nicht “unsere” Musels, gleichzeitig wirde die Ostkirsche von einem Richter angezeigt und diese macht einen Rückzieher von der “Freude” zur belanglosen Beliebigkeit, auf Kosten der Gesellschaft und Rechts.
“unser” tatsächlicher Islam & Musels und “ihr Frieden”: die, die, die …:
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2011/05/uk-furious-bin-laden-supporters-vow-to-take-revenge.html
Iran’s Supreme Leader calls for Ahmadinejad to resign
A few minutes ago on May 5, 2011, Arab TV announced that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini requested Iran’s President Ahmadinejad to step down from his post. This has not been confirmed nor verified by Western media as yet, however, it has been reported that several of his close aides are already under arrest.
The UK Guardian reported today that many of Ahmadinejad’s aides were accused of using ‘supernatural powers’, including invoking jinns (spirits) in an attempt to further the president’s agenda against Khameini. This includes Irani Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei,
The arrests come amid a growing rift between Ahmadinejad and Khamenei which has prompted several MPs to call for the president to be impeached. The Guardian 5/5/2011
http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/breaking-ahmadinejad-to-resign
Analysis: Row between Iranian leaders comes to a head
Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has enjoyed taking on and defying the West. But he is now playing potentially a much more risky game.
Mr Ahmadinejad finds himself up against his own country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The two men are currently engaged in an unusually public stand-off.
Their argument began on 17 April, when Mr Ahmadinejad decided to fire his Intelligence Minister, Heydar Moslehi. A simple decision, say the president’s supporters, since the constitution gives him the right to dismiss ministers.
But, several hours later Ayatollah Khamenei decided to overrule the president and ordered the reinstatement of Mr Moslehi.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13312907
Power Struggle in Iran Enters the Mosque
The unprecedented power struggle between the two most powerful leaders in Iran deepened Friday, spilling out into Tehran’s public prayers where the mullah leading the service indirectly criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad while the crowd chanted “Death to opponents of the supreme leader!”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/07/world/middleeast/07iran.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
SYRIA: Is mystery gunman President Bashar Assad’s brother, Maher?
According to activists and observers who’ve examined an extraordinary video (above) posted to the Internet, that’s exactly what Maher Assad, brother of Syrian President Bashar Assad, did on Friday, gleefully shooting at unarmed protesters as they chanted for the downfall of his regime in the Barzeh suburb of Damascus.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/05/syria-is-mystery-gunman-bashar-assads-brother-maher.html
jack
7. Mai 2011 um 11:25
Sehr einfach Jack
Nicht einverstanden einzeticket zu wehr zie herkommen.
Die haben gar noch nicht verstanden das sie nicht mehr in Ihren heimland leben aber in ein GASTLAND das sie aufgenommen hat.
Wan Geste In meinen haus sich nicht mit meinen regeln wunschen zu vereinbaren ist es sehr einfach, raus
The Pernicious Influence of Iran, Part 97
Iran appears to be helping Bashar al-Assad hunt down democracy activists:
The reasons for the newfound ability to sever communications were unclear, but Obama administration officials have said Iran, which faced a similar uprising in 2009, has provided the Syrian government, a longtime ally, with coercive supplies like tear gas, along with communications equipment that might help interrupt activists’ phones.
“The only country they can trust to back them to the end is Iran,” said an analyst based in Syria who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/05/the-pernicious-influence-of-iran-part-97/238562/
Ahmadinejad fights to preserve his dwindling power
Iran’s president has surprised many by daring to disobey Ayatollah Khamenei, but emnity suits both men now
No Iranian president has ever dared to challenge the supremacy of Ali Khamenei’s two-decade-long leadership as publicly as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did recently in an extraordinary power struggle between him and the ayatollah.
The unprecedented confrontation at the top of the Iranian regime began only a month ago when Khamenei, the supreme leader, intervened in a cabinet appointment by reinstating a minister who had initially resigned “under pressure from Ahmadinejad”.
In reaction to the reinstatement of Heydar Moslehi, the intelligence minister at the centre of the row, Ahmadinejad apparently staged an 11-day walkout from the presidential palace and refused to chair cabinet meetings
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/may/09/ahmadinejad-iran-ayatollah-khamenei
Inside The United States’ Secret Sabotage Of Iran.
First in a three-part series
For years, the United States has been trying to stop Iran’s nuclear program and change what it says is Iran’s bad behavior in the Middle East and beyond.
The United States has used economic sanctions, censure by the United Nations, diplomatic engagement and the threat of military action to accomplish these goals — all with little or no success.
At the same time, other, unacknowledged activities have been under way. They have included cyberattacks, assassinations and defections. As it turns out, these efforts have had some success.
‘A Covert War’
Covert action is meant to stay just that — covert, clandestine, in the shadows.
http://www.npr.org/2011/05/09/135854490/inside-the-united-states-secret-sabotage-of-iran?ft=1%26f=1009
Iranian Women Political Prisoners Kept In ‘Intolerable Conditions’
The families of female political prisoners recently transferred to a strict prison have written to the head of Iran’s Islamic Human Rights Commission, Mohammad Hassan Ziaeefar, asking him to immediately address the jail’s “intolerable conditions,” RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
The letter, published on kaleme.com on May 8, says the lives of 600 women prisoners recently transferred to the Gharchak prison in a southern Tehran suburb are at risk.
It says they are kept in a hall without beds or access to basic washing facilities and sanitation and claims prison officials refuse to provide them with food and water on a regular basis. It says when the prisoners complain about the conditions they are beaten.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iranian_women_political_prisoners_kept_in_intolerable_conditions/24096923.html
Ahmadinejad Seen As Loser In Iranian Power Struggle
Die rissen innerhalb das Iranischen Regime werden jede woche mehr sichtbar.
Although the details are murky, it seems safe to say that a power struggle is under way in Iran. Among the key players are the president, the supreme leader, the current intelligence minister and the president’s chief of staff.
It’s a story that also includes the possible bugging of the president’s office and charges of black magic and sorcery among some of his partisans.
And for the moment, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appears to be the loser.
http://www.npr.org/2011/05/10/136176773/ahmadinejad-seen-as-loser-in-iranian-power-struggle?ft=1%26f=1009
Covert War With Iran: A ‘Wilderness Of Mirrors’
Second in a three-part series
Amid the economic sanctions and threats of military action leveled against Iran, there are also more covert efforts under way by the U.S. and other countries that want to change Tehran’s behavior.
Cyberattacks and other high-tech methods have been used to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program.
But the clandestine war is not confined to the technological. In the physical realm, defectors with key information have been lured out of Iran; nuclear scientists have been assassinated in broad daylight; and bombs have gone off in key ethnic regions.
http://www.npr.org/2011/05/10/136054851/covert-war-with-iran-a-wilderness-of-mirrors?ft=1%26f=1009
Iran: End flawed trial and release US hikers
Amnesty International has called on Iranian authorities to release two US citizens apparently held for political reasons for nearly two years, as their flawed trial is set to resume on 11 May.
Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were arrested while they were hiking in the Iraq-Iran border area on 31 July 2009. The exact circumstances of their arrest remain unclear, but the Iranian authorities have charged them with espionage and illegal entry.
A third US citizen arrested with the men, Sarah Shourd, was released in September 2010 on US$500,000 bail.
“The facts surrounding the hikers’ arrest are disputed, and Iran’s justice system has systematically failed to observe international fair trial standards in this case, including giving the men adequate contact with their lawyer, families or consular assistance,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/iran-end-sham-trial-and-release-us-hikers-2011-05-10
From Arab Spring to boiling-hot summer
Welchen fruhling, uberal sieht man die fundamentalisten zich ruhren.
When the term “Arab Spring” entered the collective vocabulary this year, it was meant to encapsulate the youthful exuberance of the pro-democracy movements that had sprung up throughout the Middle East. After enduring decades of stultifying and repressive rule by the ancien regime, this was the moment that the region’s poor and dispossessed at last laid claim to certain basic rights, such as the freedom to express their political opinions, and to a more equal share of their nations’ wealth.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/concoughlin/8505793/From-Arab-Spring-to-boiling-hot-summer.html
Threat of massacre at Ashraf camp in Iraq, warn Euro-MPs
Neues 1980 unterwegs ???
Urgent international action is needed to avert “a Srbrenica-style massacre” at the Iraqi Ashraf camp housing thousands of exiled Iranian opponents, a European parliament delegation said Tuesday after returning from Iraq.
“We’ve had so many threats from the Iraqi government… of what could happen if Ashraf is not cleared by the end of this year,” said Scottish conservative MEP Struan Stevenson, who headed a parliamentary delegation in Iraq from April 25 to 29.
The visit took place two weeks after an Iraqi army raid in the camp housing 3,500 people left at least 35 dead.
“Having seen the massacre that took place on April 8th, I can only anticipate that if we do not resolve the situation… there will be a Srebrenica style massacre,” he added.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/iraq-iran.9vo
Iranian “morality police” to work overtime this summer
Iranian authorities have announced that “morality police” will hit city streets in greater numbers this summer to confront violations of the Islamic dress code and other public transgressions.
Um die frauen nog weiter zu discrimnieren
Commander Ahmad Rouzbehani, the head of “morality police forces,” announced that 70,000 officers would be deployed to enforce public morality regulations as the summer starts and there is greater movement of people during vacations.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1087.html
Trial of American Hikers in Iran Is Delayed
The trial of three Americans charged with espionage and illegal entry in Iran after their arrest almost two years ago near the border with Iraqi Kurdistan failed to resume in Tehran on Wednesday, and their Iranian lawyer said he had formally protested the delay.
One of the defendants, Sarah E. Shourd, 32, was released on bail last September for medical reasons and returned to the United States. The other two, Joshua F. Fattal and Shane M. Bauer , both 28, had been set to appear for a hearing on Wednesday but their lawyer, Masoud Shafiee , said they were not brought to court, news reports said.
Reuters quoted Mr. Shafiee as saying that he had lodged a formal protest.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/12/world/middleeast/12iran.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
PA State Would Be Iranian Proxy, Says Min. Shalom
Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom told the Knesset on Wednesday recognition of a PA state would put Iran on Israel’s front door.
During a special session of the knesset on the recent Fatah-Hamas unity agreement Shalom said the integration of Hamas into the PA would render any future PA state an Iranian proxy.
“We are in the midst of a war between the West and Iran for control of the Middle East region, which holds the world’s oil reserves,” Shalom said. “A Hamas state will constitute another Iranian proxy in this region.”
“We must make clear to the world that if the UN recognizes a Palestinian state in September 2011,” Shalom said. “It could find in January 2012 it has sponsored another Iranian entity in the Middle East.”
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/144088
Iran Wants New Round of Talks — Just Not About Nukes
Iran wants a new round of talks with six world powers to focus on a host of issues including its rights as a nation, and even high-seas piracy, instead of international fears that it’s building a nuclear bomb, according to confidential letters obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.
The correspondence appeared certain to strengthen Western concerns that Iran is drawing out years of negotiations with procedural delays and rhetorical debates in order to gain time to enrich enough uranium to build a bomb — an intention
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/05/11/iran-wants-new-round-talks-8212-just-nukes/
Third anniversary in prison for Iran’s Baha’i leaders
As seven Baha’i leaders in Iran complete their third year in jail, the Baha’i International Community has confirmed that the two women amongst them have been transferred to another prison.
The seven were all members of a national-level ad hoc group that helped attend to the needs of Iran’s 300,000-strong Baha’i community.
This Saturday, 14 May, six of them – Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Vahid Tizfahm – will begin their fourth year behind bars. The seventh member of the group – Mahvash Sabet – was arrested three months earlier than her former colleagues, on 5 March 2008.
After an illegal 30-month detention in Tehran’s Evin prison, they were tried on trumped-up charges and sentenced in August 2010 to 20 years in jail. They have been held at Gohardasht prison since that time.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1101.html
Women’s rights activist arrested in Shiraz
Women’s rights activist Maryam Bahreman was arrested yesterday in Shiraz.
Kaleme website reports that Iranian security forces arrived with an arrest warrant at Bahreman’s home and spent three hours searching and confiscating books, documents and a computer before finally arresting her for “activities against national security.”
A few days earlier the activist had published a letter on her personal weblog, Yek varagh pareh digar, addressed to opposition leader MirHosein Mousavi and his wife, Zahra Rahnavard.
The opposition has started a letter-writing campaign to Mousavi and Rahnavard, who have been under house arrest since February for rallying protesters to march in solidarity with the recent Arab uprisings.
Bahreman wrote to the opposition leaders: “For sure these bitter days will also pass.”
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/womens-rights-activist-arrested-shiraz
Iran executed Jewish woman and her husband, State Dept. says
A Jewish woman and her Armenian Christian husband were executed in Iran for undisclosed reasons, a top State Department official said.
Michael Posner, the assistant secretary of state for human rights, testified Wednesday at a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Iran’s human rights.
Posner said human rights in the Islamic Republic had deteriorated in the first part of 2011. He listed as examples mass executions; the killing of protesters in Tehran and among ethnic Arabs; harsh prison sentences for Baha’i leaders; tough prison conditions for political detainees; and that “a Jewish woman and her Armenian-Christian husband were reportedly executed based on undisclosed charges.”
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/05/12/3087664/state-iran-executed-jewish-woman-husband
Syria says Al Jazeera reporter Homa Parvaz extradited to Iran
Iranian-American journalist Homa (Dorothy) Parvaz has been handed over to Iranian authorities by Syrian security forces, Al Jazeera reports.
The Qatar-based news agency says Parvaz has been deported from Syria to Iran. She had been detained on April 29 when she arrived in Damascus to report on recent protests for Al Jazeera.
“We have now received information that she is being held in Tehran. We are calling for information from the Iranian authorities, access to Dorothy, and for her immediate release. We have had no contact with Dorothy since she left Doha on 29 April and we are deeply concerned for her welfare,” an Al-Jazeera spokesman was quoted as saying.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1113.html
Iran: ‘No Information’ On Al-Jazeera Reporter
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says he has “no information” on the whereabouts of American journalist Dorothy Parvaz, who disappeared while reporting for Al-Jazeera in Syria.
The Syrian Embassy in Washington said on May 11 that the Iranian-born Parvaz was put on a Caspian Airlines flight to Tehran on May 1, escorted by the Iranian consul in Damascus.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_says_no_informationon_missing_al-jazeera_journalist/24108264.html
Disfigured Woman Hails ‘Eye-For-An-Eye’ Blinding Of Attacker In Iran
Zie ook het artikel van E.J. Bron op deze site.
An Iranian woman who was blinded and badly disfigured by an acid attack by a spurned suitor has expressed strong support for a retributive blinding sentence to be carried out against her attacker.
The court-ordered plan for “retribution in kind” is to place five drops of sulfuric acid in each of Majid Movahedi’s eyes for the 2004 incident, when he poured a bucket of acid on Ameneh Bahrami, ultimately leaving her blind and forcing her to undergo at least 17 operations.
The acid drops were scheduled to be administered at a hospital in the Iranian capital on May 14, but the blinding has now been postponed. Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency, which reported the postponment, gave no reason and did not reveal the source of the announcement.
http://www.rferl.org/content/blinding_retributive_sentence_iran_victim/24107939.html
Iran must not carry out retribution blinding sentence’ says Amnesty
Amnesty International today called on the Iranian authorities to not carry out a sentence ordering a man to be blinded by having acid dropped in both eyes as part of a retribution punishment.
Majid Movahedi was sentenced to “retribution in kind” (qesas) in 2008 after he poured a bucket of acid over Ameneh Bahrami, who had rejected his marriage proposal several times.
A Tehran court ordered that five drops of acid be placed in each of his eyes and the sentence is reportedly due to be carried out on 14 May.
“It is unbelievable that the Iranian authorities would consider implementing such a punishment,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.
“Regardless of how horrific the crime suffered by Ameneh Bahrami, being blinded with acid is a cruel and inhuman punishment amounting to torture, and the Iranian authorities have a responsibility under international law to ensure it does not go ahead.”
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/may/14/3120?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+irangreenvoice%2FEn+%28Iran+Green+Voice+-+English%29
This Prison Is More Like a Stable
The families of several female political prisoners raised alarm about their transfer to the Qarchak prison in the city of Varamin, announcing that the prison lacks the most basic and humane conditions.
Fariba Kamalabadi’s mother, Shahra Kamalabadi, and Shabnam Madadzadeh’s father, Abdolali Madadzadeh, told Rooz that Varamin’s Qarchak prison lacks the most basic facilities for a prison, putting the lives of the female political prisoners transferred there in grave danger.
Nine female political prisoners were transferred last week to Varamin’s Qarchak prison, and their families are deeply concerned about their mental and physical well being. In a letter from prison, the women announced that they would go on hunger strike if the present conditions continue.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1125.html
CS hat alles sehr gut verstanden
Nakba’ clashes: Iran, Syria trying to turn Arab Spring fury into attacks on Israel?
During nearly four months of turmoil around the Arab world, Israel has tried its best to say little lest the revolutionary fervor morph into anger toward the Jewish state.
But deadly clashes Sunday with Arab demonstrators who challenged Israeli forces at the Lebanese, Syrian, Gazan, and West Bank borders showed it may be difficult for Israel to remain above the fray.
Israeli officials have warned in recent weeks that “radical” Islamist groups and Iran are trying to leverage the unrest in the Middle East to expand their influence and pull Israel into the conflict.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0515/Nakba-clashes-Iran-Syria-trying-to-turn-Arab-Spring-fury-into-attacks-on-Israel?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fcsm+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+%7C+All+Stories%29
How to Understand the Golan Heights Demonstrations
Palestinian demonstrators, marking the date of the largely self-inflicted dispossession in 1948 called “the nakba) (“largely self-inflicted” because the Arabs rejected the U.N. partition plan for Palestine, attacked the just-born Jewish state and then managed to lose on the battlefield) have tried to cross into Israel on the Golan Heights and across the Lebanese border. As many as 16 demonstrators, as I write, have been killed. Ethan Bronner, writing in the Times, states:
(T)his is the first year that Palestinian refugees in Syria and Lebanon tried to breach the Israeli military border in marches inspired by recent popular protests around the Arab world. Here too, word about the rallies was spread on social media sites. “The Palestinians are not less rebellious than other Arab peoples,” said Ali Baraka, a Hamas representative in Lebanon.
Ethan Bronner is a very smart person, so I’m not sure why he’s accepting the Hamas/Assad/Iran line on these protests. Consider: These borders, in particular the Syria-Israel border, have seldom, if ever, seen demonstrations like this. The Syria-Israel border is a notably quiet place; Hafez al-Assad, the late dictator, and his son, Bashar, the current dictator, have kept the border quiet for decades. But now there is widespread revolt in Syria, which threatens not only the Syrian regime, but its ally, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah. So far, Bashar’s security forces have slaughtered almost a thousand Syrian citizens. So what would you do if you were a cynical Syrian dictator, or a cynical ally of the cynical Syrian dictator? Change the subject. To what, you might ask? Well, Israel, of course. Here is Andrew Exum, who has a much better understanding of the situation:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/05/how-to-understand-the-golan-heights-demonstrations/238907/
Iran’s Ahmadinejad Denies Rift With Supreme Leader
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has rejected speculation that he has any differences with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In an interview on state television, the president made no mention of the main source of such speculation — the dismissal of Iranian intelligence Chief Heydar Moslehi — which Khamenei vetoed and eventually blocked.
http://www.rferl.org/content/irans_ahmadinejad_denies_rift_with_supreme_leader/24109439.html
2 ships carrying 120 Iranian hardline activists leave for Bahrain
Two ships carrying 120 Iranian hardline activists have left for Bahrain, part of an effort to show solidarity with the Shiite majority population of the tiny island nation.
The leader of the group, Mahdi Eghrarian, was quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency as saying that the two ships left the port of Dayyer on Monday, sailing toward Bahrain.
It’s not clear if they will be stopped by Iranian authorities, as two ships were during a similar attempt last month.
Eghrarian said one-third of the activists are women and ten of them children. The group is carrying messages of support, he said without elaborating.
“We’ve started moving towards international waters. We will carry on sailing towards Bahrain’s borders as far as possible in order to be able to hand over letters and messages of the Iranian nation to the Bahraini nation,” Fars quoted Eghrarian as saying.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2-ships-carrying-190-iranian-hardline-activists-leave-for-bahrain/2011/05/16/AFrxG14G_story.html?wprss=rss_world
Israel: Border rampage an Arab Spring diversion by ‘radical axis’ of Iran, Hizbullah
Israel has determined that Iran was seeking to divert the Arab revolt in Syria toward the Jewish state.
Officials said Iran and its proxies organized large groups of Sunnis and Shi’ites to rush the Israeli border from Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip on the anniversary of the establishment of Israel, called Nakba by the Arabs. They said many of the demonstrators were believed to have been members of the Iranian-supported Hamas, Hizbullah and Islamic Jihad.
“We are seeing here an Iranian provocation, on both the Syrian and the Lebanese frontiers, to try to exploit the Nakba Day commemorations,” Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai said.
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2011/me_iran0583_05_16.asp
£1.7m and you can save your eyes: Iranian woman blinded in acid attack names her price
It will cost an Iranian man convicted of throwing acid in the face of a fellow student two million euros – or £1.7million – to escape a court-ordered blinding.
‘I announced that I want two million euros to guarantee my life and my future, and not for treatment,’ Ameneh Bahrami told the Arman newspaper.
‘It is only then that I will give up qesas (retributive justice) against Majid, although they said – and I hope it is true – that the sentence will be carried out next week,’ she added
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1388036/Iranian-woman-Ameneh-Bahrami-blinded-acid-attack-names-price.html?ITO=1490
Iranian Universities Under Siege
University Classes Canceled in Tehran, Mashhad, and Mazandaran
On Satuarday, Iranian university campuses were filled with police and security forces as student groups called for a day of protests. Despite the heavy security presence, classes were canceled in university campuses across Tehran, Mashhad, and Mazandaran.
At the Tehran Polytechnic University, some student activists who had participated in previous protests were not allowed to enter the campus.
Reports from the Mazandaran University also pointed to heavy police and security presence. Some student activists there were threatened that they would face harsh consequences if the participated in any protests.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1158.html
Investigate Torture and Mass Due Process Violations Detailed by Prominent Prisoners of Conscience
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran endorsed the call, by prominent prisoners of conscience, for an investigation into torture and mass due process violations and infringements on protections in Iran’s Citizen’s Bill of Rights following the 2009 presidential election. The Campaign called on the Central Committee charged with implementing the Citizen’s Bill of Rights to conduct a full and independent investigation into all allegations of abuse, and overturn convictions of political prisoners based on tainted evidence.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1155.html
Missing Al-Jazeera Journalist Freed By Iranian Authorities
Missing Al-Jazeera journalist Dorothy Parvaz has arrived safely back in Qatar after being freed by the Iranian authorities.
Parvaz — who has Iranian, U.S., and Canadian citizenship — had been deported to Iran by Syria after she arrived there three weeks ago to cover antigovernment protests.
Members of Parvaz’s family told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda she called her fiance, Todd Barker, early on May 18 from Qatar as she was clearing customs there.
http://www.rferl.org/content/dorothy_parvaz_missing_back_in_doha_safe/24178159.html
Jazeera reporter held in Syria says heard beatings
An al Jazeera journalist who was detained in Syria three weeks ago and sent to Iran, said after being released and flown to Qatar on Wednesday that she could hear beatings “almost around the clock” in her Syrian jail.
Al Jazeera had sent Dorothy Parvaz, 39, to the Syrian capital Damascus to cover a wave of protests against the 41-year rule of President Bashar al-Assad and his family. She went missing on arrival and was detained in Syria and then in Iran.
“The beatings I heard almost around the clock were savage … I heard two separate interrogations and beatings … young men … being beaten so harshly,” Parvaz told Al Jazeera of her time in detention in Syria.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/18/us-aljazeera-journalist-idUSTRE74H6PL20110518?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
Despite Complaints About Torture, Forced Confessions, and Lack of Due Process, Brothers Fathi Hanged in Isfahan
Two brothers, Mohammad Fathi, 28, and Abdollah Fathi, 27, were hanged Tuesday morning inside Isfahan’s Dastjerd Prison. On Monday, the family of the two executed prisoners told the Campaign that the case lacked due process and that the authorities had not paid attention to the irregularities of the case in reaching a verdict and issuing the sentence. The Iranian police claim that the two men were involved in an armed robbery incident in the northern province of Mazandaran. Their father, however, told the Campaign that their confessions to this crime had been extracted under torture. The Iranian officials have not commented on such allegations.
The execution was carried out at a time when the lawyer and the family had raised a number of questions about the irregularities and unlawful acts during the process that had led to issuing the death sentence.
Earlier today, the two brothers’ father, Bijan Fathi, confirmed an announcement by the Iranian authorities about the imminent execution of the two young men and spoke with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran about their impending execution. “My sons are scheduled to be executed in Isfahan’s Dastjerd Prison on the charge of moharebeh (enmity with God) tomorrow morning. But neither the two of them, nor their attorney, and not the family have been served with the notice of this. Someone called their mother from the prison this morning and said that the sentence will be carried out tomorrow morning and she could come to see them for the last time today at 3:00 p.m.,” he told the Campaign.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1169.html
Remember Majid Tavakkoli on his 2nd birthday behind bars
On May 22 one young man will turn 25. But he will not be able to celebrate his birthday with friends and family as many young men would. Instead, Majid Tavakkoli will be spending his 25th birthday in a dank and fetid cell in one of Iran’s most squalid prisons.
What could he possibly have done to deserve this? Majid Tavakkoli was a student leader studying ship building at Amir Kabir University of Technology and had the audacity to exercise his internationally guaranteed right to freedom of expression by making a speech to mark Students Day in December 2009, in which he criticized the government. He was arrested shortly thereafter and has been in prison ever since then. He was beaten in detention and held in solitary confinement.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/may/18/3128
Lawyer For Iranian Sufi Dervishes Detained
A lawyer who has represented Sufi dervishes pressured by Iranian authorities has been detained at his office in northern Iran, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Mostafa Daneshjou was taken away on May 18 to an unknown location by 10 plainclothes security agents, Daneshjou’s lawyer, Farshid Yadollahi, told Radio Farda.
Yadollahi added that the Intelligence Ministry Office in the town of Behshahr had previously filed a complaint against Daneshjou because of a case in which he represented two Sufi dervishes from the Nematollahi Gonabadi order.
Daneshjou was originally sentenced to seven months in jail in January 2010 after being found guilty of libel, insult, and spreading lies.
http://www.rferl.org/content/lawyer_for_iranian_sufi_dervishes_detained/24179726.html
Al-Jazeera Reporter Talks Of ‘Savage Beatings’ In Syria Prison
Heil voor de vrouwvriendelijke religie.
An Al-Jazeera journalist who has returned to Qatar after being held in Syria and Iran said she could hear beatings “almost around the clock” in her Syrian jail.
Dorothy Parvaz, a 39-year-old journalist with Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television, was detained in Syria where she had been sent to cover anti-regime protests late in April.
“I was in a Syrian detention center for three days, two nights, and what I heard were just savage beatings,” she said.
http://www.rferl.org/content/al_jazeera_reporter_talks_of_savage_beatings_in_syria_prison/24179548.html
Would a free Iran be Islamic? Look to her artists!
The battle for retention of Iran’s national identity, now in its 32nd year, has been clearly witnessed by the global YouTube audience since the brutal 2009 crackdowns of its civilians demanding a free, secular and democratic country.
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2011/me_iran0601_05_19.asp
Eine großartige Künstlerin und iranische Heldin.
Endlich mit englischen Untertiteln:
Opposition: Iran organized Israel border rampage
Iran organized the recruitment of thousands of followers to storm the borders of Israel earlier this month, the opposition said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ordered Hamas and Hizbullah to organize an assault on Israel on May 15, the day of the declaration of the Jewish state and regarded by Arabs as catastrophe, or “nakbah.”
The opposition said Hamas and Hizbullah leaders were summoned to Teheran in April to arrange the storming of Israel’s borders from Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2011/me_israel0603_05_19.asp
Attacks against Ahmadinejad top aide intensify
Iranian hardliners have targeted Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s closest aide, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, with fierce criticism as the struggle intensifies over who will shape the next government.
The weekly Ya Lesarat Al-Hossein quotes a student of Ahmadinejad’s mentor, Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, as saying: “Mashaei is a freemason and should be arrested.”
He adds that the contents of the president’s public speeches prove he has been heavily influenced by Mashaei’s ideas.
At the same time, the head of the conservative Society of Islamic Republic Martyrs, Hossein Fadai, accused the “deviant current” in the government of trying to foster relations with the U.S. and foreign intelligence services.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1185.html
Modern Slavery in GCC Countries
Adam Hanieh: Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council states created a super exploited migrant work force after facing a radicalized Arab working class in the ’60s
PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome to The Real News Network. I’m Paul Jay in Washington. Across the Gulf Cooperation Council countries–Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and a few others–there has been a dirty secret that doesn’t get talked about very much, certainly not in the news. All the discussion about bin Laden and some of the more higher-profile protests, particularly in Bahrain–the thing that doesn’t get talked about very much is the thousands or tens of thousands of migrant workers that are really the engines driving these economies other than oil. Now joining us to talk about the state and importance of the migrant workers in these countries is Adam Hanieh. Adam teaches development studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He’s also the author of the book Capitalism and Class in the Gulf Arab States. Thanks for joining us, Adam.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1190.html
SYRIA: A nation reels from a day of violence (Video’s)
Syrian activists upped the death toll from Friday’s anti-government protests to 44 after a day of widespread clamoring for the downfall of President Bashar Assad.
Security forces clamped down on protesters with gunfire and tear gas in several Syrian cities and towns after the weekly Muslim prayers.
But ordinary Syrians also had their say. In the video above, taken in the town of Talbeseh near Homs, people hang Assad in effigy, voicing their hatred for a regime that has killed up to 1,000 people in nine weeks of protest.
Most of the dead came from the western province of Idlib and Homs in the central parts of the country, according to media reports.
But demonstrations erupted all over Syria on Friday: in Damascus, Homs, Hama, Dara, Baniyas, Idlib and other parts of the country on a day described as a Friday of Azadi (Friday of Freedom).
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/05/syria-a-nation-reels-from-a-day-of-violence.html
Iran Accuses Europe of Stealing Its Rain
Wie verrukt kan mann sein.
Why has Iran suffered through so many droughts over the last few years? Many people would say “weather patterns, or whatever.” But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad knows the truth! “Western countries have designed plans to cause drought in certain areas of the world,” he said in a speech in the Iranian city of Arak. And not only that! “European countries are using special equipment to force clouds to dump” rain on their own countries.
http://gawker.com/5804295/iran-accuses-europe-of-stealing-its-rain
Iran arrest suspected of spies
The Iranian intelligence ministry says it has made thirty arrests as it dismantled a network suspected of spying for the United States on its basic infrastructure as well as its nuclear and defence research
The Iranian intelligence ministry says they have made thirty arrests as it dismantled a network suspected of spying for the United States on its basic infrastructure as well as its nuclear and defence research.
“Due to the massive intelligence and counter-intelligence work by Iranian intelligence agents, a complex espionage and sabotage network linked to America’s spy organisation was uncovered and dismantled,” a ministry statement read out on state television said on Saturday.
“Elite agents of the intelligence ministry in their confrontation with the CIA elements were able to arrest thirty America-linked spies through numerous intelligence and counter-intelligence operations.”
The statement said that the “network” operated in “a number of nations” under the command of “prominent intelligence officers” of the US Central Intelligence Agency.
“Under the guise of issuing student and work visas or permanent residency … they tried to trick citizens into spying for them,” the statement said.
http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=131000&fm=newsmain,nrhl
Iranian President’s aide arrested
In what can be regarded as a severe blow to the embattled Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his aide Kazem Kiapasha has been arrested.
His arrest is the latest in the wave of detention of Ahmadinejad’s supporters.
Kiapasha was touted as Ahmadinejad’s fovoured successor, but was disapproved off by
religious hardliners, The Independent reports.
http://www.newkerala.com/news/world/fullnews-213924.html
MPs press Iran to release Bahá’í leaders after sham trial
It has been three years since seven Bahá’í leaders in Iran were incarcerated because of their religious beliefs. They suffered a sham trial and are now enduring appalling conditions in prison. Two are women and their lives are in danger.
The Bahá’ís are Iran’s largest religious minority, with over 300,000 believers, and for 30 years they have suffered a state-sponsored campaign of persecution. Hundreds have been executed, thousands tortured and imprisoned, and many others denied homes, livelihoods or education.
The United Nations human rights council recently established a special rapporteur to study the human rights situation of Iran – an achievement that owes much to the British government. Iran uses the cover of other events to press its campaign against Bahá’ís and others.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/21/mps-iran-release-bahai-leaders
IRAN: Alleged CIA spies included government officials
Government officials were among those netted in an Iranian counterespionage operation that Tehran’s intelligence ministry touted this weekend, a news website reported Sunday.
The semi-official Fars news agency (link in Persian) reported “a number of Iranian government managers” were among the 30 arrested on suspicion of having ties with the CIA.
Fars quoted “an informed source” as saying a manager of one of Iran’s ministries and a number of other officials employed by government bodies were arrested.
One official had worked at one of Iran’s ministries for 25 years and was allegedly gathering information for U.S. intelligence with the aim of immigrating to the West and keeping his son out of military service, the source told Fars.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/05/iran-alleged-cia-spies-included-government-officials-.html
The Story of the Arrest of Baha’i Citizen Amanollah Mostaghim
Shiraz Intelligence agents raided the homes of several Baha’i families located in a building, arrested the residents of all the 3 units and searched the location.
According to the Human Rights House of Iran, until 2 hours after the raid, none of the individuals were allowed to talk. They then took Amanollah Mostaghim from his house to his workplace and confiscated 12 bags of his personal belongings and books.
http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=10973
Iranian, French companies team up for film version of Dieudonné play
Les productions de la Plume, a French company belonging to Holocaust denying director Dieudonné M’bala M’bala, and Iran’s Haft Aseman Cinematic Company (HACC) have recently inked a contract to make a film adaptation of a play entitled “The Anti-Semite”.
“Due to my anti-Zionist beliefs, I agreed to produce the film,” HACC Managing Director Mohsen Ali-Akbari told the Persian service of the Fars News Agency on Saturday.
The story of “The Anti-Semite” is set in France and shooting will begin in 45 days, he added.
Ali-Akbari said that working on the film with such a sensitive subject in France, which has a pro-Zionist for a president, poses serious dangers for the cast and crew.
“However, I will face all the dangers due to my beliefs and national devotion,” he noted.
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1318309
Iran’s supreme leader and president wrestle for power
The dispute between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ignites concern inside the nation that the infighting weakens Iran’s ability to project power internationally amid historic instability across the Mideast.
Reporting from Beirut and Tehran— Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wanted to send his onetime protege Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an unmistakable message: You’re replaceable.
The Iranian president had been skipping Cabinet meetings, apparently over Khamenei’s decision to overrule his firing of the country’s intelligence chief. So Khamenei asked a conservative lawmaker to begin assembling a caretaker Cabinet, just in case the president resigned or had to be removed, said an Iranian official close to the politician.
Ahmadinejad eventually returned to work. But he also had a message for Khamenei: I can still make a big mess.
He recently defied the nation’s constitutional watchdog, and Khamenei, by launching a drastic restructuring of the country’s government and naming himself caretaker minister of the country’s vast oil and gas resources, saying, “The president has the authority to replace ministers and be the caretaker himself.” But on Friday he was overruled again, by the country’s powerful Guardian Council.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-power-struggle-20110522,0,5736177.story?track=rss
Is Ahmadinejad’s Closest Aide About To Be Arrested?
The pressure on Mahmud Ahmadinejad is mounting in the power struggle that has pitted the Iranian president against the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
At the center of the dispute, which heated up after Khamenei reinstated the information minister Heydar Moslehi (who had reportedly been forced to resign by Ahmadinejad), is the president’s closest and most trusted aide Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei — a man despised by the clergy. In the past few days, there have been a number of calls for Mashaei to be arrested.
Mashaei, a controversial figure, is facing a long list of accusations, including bewitching Ahmadinejad, promoting an Iranian doctrine instead of an Islamic one, pushing for ties with the U.S., having contacts with foreign secret services, and aiming to limit the role of Khamenei.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1215.html
Marriage on the Street Corners of Tehran
This insightful novel is the compelling and moving account of the struggles of an ambitious but innocent young woman caught in the practice of temporary marriage – a form of religiously and culturally sanctioned prostitution justified by a misinterpretation of the Quran. While traveling throughout Iran, Author Nadia shahram, heard hundreds of accounts from women who, in order to survive, fell prey to these temporary marriages. she narrates their stories through a composite fictional character, Ateesh, a beautiful, modern woman with high hopes and ambitions living in Iran. This story chronicles her life from the abusive arranged marriage she escapes at the age of twelve to the ten contractual temporary marriages she engages in, as she struggles for love, education, and most importantly, independence.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1219.html
Morgen einem Dokumentarfilm über die versteckte Prostitution im Iran.
150 Iranian professors to be dismissed or forced into retirement
Kaleme opposition website reports that as the end of the academic year approaches, the head of Allameh Tabatabai University is preparing the files of 150 outstanding senior professors of business administration, sociology, economics, communications, law and political science for dismissal or early retirement.
The report adds that over the summer holidays the university will make prepare to merge with the Imam Khomeini Institute, which belongs to senior hardline cleric Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi.
According to Kaleme, the president of Allameh Tabatabai, with the support of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, had fired scores of professors over the past six years and closed down several graduate programs.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1217.html
Doku über die legale Prostitution in Iran.
Es könnte für einige Leser schockierend, aber es ist die Realität in Iran.
Teil 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wv8CFQ3iN4&playnext=1&list=PL6F32D2B513F45AFA
Teil 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTBuo2zLTGM
Teil 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mQnTd4M5OE
Teil 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UM61wQmYuQ
Teil 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu3vHczUPt8
Teil 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zllz5gK5z4s
Eine sehr traurige Doku, der aufzeigt wie das Türkentum und der Islam eine Gesellschaft ins Unglück stürzen.
So ist es wenn Vergewaltiger und Mörder eine Kulturnation beherrschen. Mögen die Mulahs und Torktâzis, samt ihre Brut im Feuer amerikanischer Waffen verdampfen.
Ofcom says interview with Maziar Bahari that aired in the UK breached broadcasting rules
Ofcom has ruled that Iran’s state-run Press TV is responsible for a serious breach of UK broadcasting rules and could face a fine for airing an interview with Maziar Bahari, the Newsweek journalist arrested covering the Iranian presidential election in 2009, that was obtained by force while he was held in a Tehran jail.
In July 2009 Press TV, which has a bureau in west London, aired what it said was an interview with Bahari following his arrest in the previous month, days after he had filed a report to Channel 4 News and Newsweek about an attack in Tehran during a post-election demonstration.
The UK media regulator has been investigating the complaint by Bahari, who spent 118 days in jail, since last summer.
In its ruling on the complaint published on Monday, Ofcom said it regards the breaches to be of a “serious nature” and is now considering if the case “warrants the imposition of a sanction”.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/may/23/iran-press-tv-maziar-bahari
——————
MOROCCO: Protest violence could escalate, intelligence analyst says
Moroccan police beat dozens of protesters who defied a ban on demonstrations and took to the streets of the capital Rabat and Casablanca on Sunday, according to news reports.
Months of protests in the north African nation have led its monarch, Mohammed VI, to make some concessions, but not enough to please protesters. They appeared more defiant Sunday, although their numbers have failed to match the scale of demonstrations in Egypt, Tunisia other countries that saw “Arab Spring” uprisings.
Babylon & Beyond spoke Monday with Metsa Rahimi, an intelligence analyst with London-based Janusian Risk Consultancy who specializes in North Africa, about the Moroccan protests.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/05/morocco-intelligence-analyst-says-violence-could-escalate.html
———-
Today’s Iran as seen clearly by its teenage girls
Nothing is more telling about a society than its views of itself especially those of its youth who carry the burden of the nation’s immediate future.
During informal interviews with Iranian teenage girls in and around schoolyards, one can learn many things about the character, bravery, thoughts, and worldliness of these young ladies, including their current place in society as opposed to what they would like it to be.
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2011/me_iran0613_05_23.asp
———-
UK paper calls Press TV ‘enemy within’
Some British right-wing media, including a pro-Zionist newspaper, plan to aid Ofcom to mount pressure on Press TV, in line with the UK government’s measures against the Iranian English-language news channel.
Media giant Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper, The Sunday Times, is among the media supporting Ofcom plan to put more pressure on Press TV.
In an article published on the paper, they tried to demonstrate a complete one sided image of Press TV to distort the facts for prompting more pressure on the Iranian news channel.
The writer of the article, considering himself as a judge and before giving any facts, described Press TV as the “domestic enemy,” accusing the Iranian news channel of broadcasting unfair images of Britain.
Dipesh Gadher, 36, who became the deputy news editor at the paper in 2008, has accused Press TV of adapting non-professional news-writing regulations.
This is while Gadher has ignored the definite rules of free and fair journalism. He could not give any documented facts for his claims against Press TV, and could not even name those he claimed to be the Foreign Ministry’s officials.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/181366.html
———–
Baha’i educational programme targeted in raids
A coordinated series of raids have been carried out on the homes of several Iranian Baha’is, active in a community initiative to provide a higher education programme for young members who are barred from university.
Reports indicate that raids took place on Saturday 21 May on as many as 30 homes in Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, and Shiraz. It is now understood that some 14 Baha’is have been arrested.
“All of the targets were homes of individuals closely involved with the operations of the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education,” said Diane Ala’i, representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1227.html
IAEA: Suspect Site In Syria ‘Very Likely’ A Nuclear Reactor; Iran’s Uranium Stockpiles Growing
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says a remote desert site in Syria that was bombed by Israeli planes in September 2007 was “very likely” a nuclear reactor.
The IAEA said in a new restricted report that “the agency assesses that it is very likely that the building destroyed at the Dair Alzour site was a nuclear reactor which should have been declared to the agency.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/iaea_suspect_site_very_likely_a_nuclear_reactor_irans_uranium_stockpiles_growing/24194955.html
Baha’is Deplore Arrests Of Academics In Iran
The Baha’i International Community has described as “unjustifiable” the arrests of more than a dozen Bahai’s in cities across Iran, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
The community said in a statement from Geneva on May 23 that some 14 Baha’is were arrested during weekend raids on as many as 30 homes in Tehran, Karaj, Shiraz, and Esfahan.
It said those arrested were active in an institute established for Baha’i students who had been barred from higher education.
http://www.rferl.org/content/bahais_deplore_arrests_of_academics_in_iran/24185664.html
US Congress Gives Netanyahu Speech An Enthusiastic Response
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has received an exuberant welcome from a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. The Israeli leader told lawmakers his vision of how to achieve a lasting peace with the Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was happy to return to the U.S. Capitol, where he gave his first speech to a joint meeting in 1996.
He emphasized the strong bonds between Israel and the United States. “In an unstable Middle East, Israel is the one anchor of stability. In a region of shifting alliances, Israel is America’s unwavering ally. Israel has always been pro-American, Israel will always be pro-American,” said the Israeli prime minister.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/US-Congress-Gives-Netanyahu-Speech-An-Enthusiastic-Response-122522854.html
Increased pressure on Iranian political prisoners
Twenty-six Iranian political prisoners are reportedly under pressure from the Revolutionary Guards and the Tehran Prosecutor’s office to withdraw an official complaint they have filed against their interrogators.
The Kaleme opposition website reports that the 26 prisoners have been called on to deny the allegations recorded in their letter of complaint or else they will face “harsh consequences.” The complaint alleges torture and abuse by their interrogators.
Several senior opposition figures and reformists detained after the controversial 2009 presidential elections and the disputed victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are among those who signed the complaint.
To quash the widespread protests that followed the 2009 presidential election, the authorities arrested dozens of political activists and thousands of protesting citizens.
Chief opposition figures mainly have been accused of “propaganda against the regime and activities against national security.”
Kaleme reports that several of the high-profile prisoners have been threatened with further charges and the loss of all their privileges inside prison.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1240.html
No Let-Up’ In Secret Executions In Iran
A U.S.-based rights group says Iran has carried out more secret executions at a prison where the practice was criticized in a recent UN report.
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said the executions were carried out at Vakilabad prison in Mashhad in recent months.
Group spokesman Hadi Ghaemi told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda on May 25 that “We have been able to confirm through local sources that executions have been performed secretly in Vakilabad prison since March 2011.”
He said some 70 people were executed over that period without having been informed in advance of their imminent death.
http://www.rferl.org/content/secret_iran_executions_alleged/24206083.html
Ahmadinejad power in decline?
The power of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is declining following a very public row with the country’s ruling cleric, political analysts say.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei backed Ahmadinejad after bloody clashes erupted in opposition to his contested re-election in 2009. Meanwhile, Iranian officials are moving against Ahmadinejad as he tried to reshuffle parts of his administration, including at the key Oil Ministry.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/05/26/Ahmadinejad-power-in-decline/UPI-10441306436530/
Arrests are part of official campaign to block development of Iranian Baha’is
The raids carried out on some 30 homes of Baha’is, who were offering education to young community members barred by the government from university, is the latest action in Iran’s ongoing policy to keep its largest non-Muslim religious minority on the margins of society.
Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Baha’is have been systematically deprived of higher education. With nowhere else to turn, the community initiated its own educational programmes.
“The Iranian authorities are clearly determined to make it impossible for the Baha’i community to educate its youth whose opportunities are blocked by the state,” said Bani Dugal, Principal Representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1264.html
‘No Let-Up’ In Secret Executions In Iran
A U.S.-based rights group says Iran has carried out more secret executions at a prison where the practice was criticized in a recent UN report.
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said the executions were carried out at Vakilabad prison in Mashhad in recent months.
Group spokesman Hadi Ghaemi told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda on May 25 that “We have been able to confirm through local sources that executions have been performed secretly in Vakilabad prison since March 2011.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/secret_iran_executions_alleged/24206083.html
Iran intelligence minister insists bin Laden not killed by US forces
Iran’s Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi is once again contending that Osama bin Laden was not killed by U.S. forces but in fact had died from disease some time ago.
“The U.S. claims of killing Osama bin Laden are unfounded,” said Moslehi, according to IRNA.
He added: “According to intelligence documents, bin Laden passed away some years ago due to an ailment, but White House leaders have whipped up a media storm in order to mislead the American people and gain ground in the elections.” Moslehi said the White House has provided no proof of its claims.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iran-intelligence-minister-insists-bin-laden-not-killed-us-forces
Iran helping Syria crush anti-government demonstrations: US officials
Washington, May 28: Iran is dispatching increasing numbers of trainers and advisers, including members of its elite Quds Force, into Syria to help crush anti-government demonstrations, US officials have said.
In the account provided by the officials, the Iranian military trainers were being brought to Damascus to instruct Syrians in techniques Iran used against the nation’s “Green Movement’’ in 2009.
http://www.newkerala.com/news/world/fullnews-218601.html
Hizbullah’s strategic depth
The Lebanese Shia group Hizbullah has been ambivalent about the protests in neighbouring Syria, explained by its ties with the Syrian regime, writes Lucy Fielder in Beirut
The Lebanese Shia political and military group Hizbullah would be profoundly affected if its strategic ally Syria descended into chaos, observers say. But the group has a strong local support base and other allies and resources, and it would therefore survive, many believe.
Lebanon watched fearfully as the wave of anti-regime protests in Syria resurged over the weekend, according to rights groups and activists. The two neighbours’ histories are intertwined, and Syria dominated Lebanon politically and militarily from the end of the latter country’s civil war in the early 1990s until 2005.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1049/re8.htm
Iran’s Khamenei aide calls Ahmadinejad to order
An aide to Iran’s supreme leader called on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday to “turn back to the main path,” suggesting the Islamic state’s highest power may be losing patience with the head of government.
The comments, in an interview with the semi-official Mehr news agency, come as pressure mounts on Ahmadinejad after he sacked several ministers and put himself in direct charge of the Oil Ministry — a move his critics say was a power grab.
Ali Saeedi, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s representative to the Revolutionary Guards, concentrated most of his criticism on unnamed “elements” within Ahmadinejad’s government, a reference to the president’s closest aides who are the usual targets for hardline critics of the government.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/28/us-iran-ahmadinejad-criticism-idUSTRE74R1HM20110528?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
Now Open Kitchens Are Un-Islamic, Too
Wie weid wird man gehen um die Iranischen befolkerung zu indoctrinieren
Open kitchens are the latest addition to the list of supposedly un-Islamic items and behaviors in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
According to conservative cleric Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, open kitchens don’t allow homeowners to be protected from the eyes of their guests.
“Women should be allowed to do their work while they have guests without being watched by others,” Amoli was quoted as saying in a meeting in the holy city of Qom, where he is based.
Every now and then, Iran’s clerics and officials come up with new things they designate as “un-Islamic.”
There are obvious un-Islamic items and behaviors, such as the consumption of alcohol, which is banned in Islam. But other things, such as open kitchens, may strike some as more odd, or at least out of touch.
http://www.rferl.org/content/in_iran_open_kitchens_now_unislamic_too/24208055.html
Iran Vows to Unplug Internet
Iran is taking steps toward an aggressive new form of censorship: a so-called national Internet that could, in effect, disconnect Iranian cyberspace from the rest of the world.
The leadership in Iran sees the project as a way to end the fight for control of the Internet, according to observers of Iranian policy inside and outside the country. Iran, already among the most sophisticated nations in online censoring, also promotes its national Internet as a cost-saving measure for consumers and as a way to uphold Islamic moral codes.
In February, as pro-democracy protests spread rapidly across the Middle East and North Africa, Reza Bagheri Asl, director of the telecommunication ministry’s research institute, told an Iranian news agency that soon 60% of the nation’s homes and businesses would be on the new, internal network. Within two years it would extend to the entire country, he said.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704889404576277391449002016.html#ixzz1Ng7qrBOp
Laina Farhat-Holzman: Iran, like some here, also believes in apocalyptic myths
Aber was wil man mehr mit ein 100 jahren aberglauben
We live in a time of strange beliefs. The latest comes from Iran. Although a country with skyscrapers, metro subways and nuclear aspirations, their leaders believe in sorcery. The conflict between obnoxious President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Khamenei has now produced a spate of arrests; 25 people, associated with Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff, Mashaei, have been accused of being “magicians who evoke djinns” evil spirits — yes, like the ones who come out of bottles found on beaches.
They are accused of using “supernatural powers” to further Ahmadinejad’s policies. One of the arrested men, Abbas Ghaffari, was described as a man with special skills in metaphysics and connections with “unknown worlds.” One hardline cleric, Ayatollah Yazdi, warned that disobeying the supreme leader — who has the ultimate power in Iran — is equivalent to “apostasy from God.”
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/rss/ci_18160839?source=rss
Ahmadinejad loses ground with Revolutionary Guards
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came under more fire today from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Supreme Leader’s representative at the Corps.
IRGC head Mohammad Ali Jafari today told a meeting of Basij university organizers: “The presence of certain political views and opinions among the people surrounding the presidency is becoming worrisome for those who care for the Revolution.”
Jafari added that one of the chief “blights of the Revolution” are those people who were once on the path of the Revolution and have now turned against it.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1276.html
Remember On May 22 one young man will turn 25. But he will not be able to celebrate his birthday with friends and family as many young men would. Instead, Majid Tavakkoli will be spending his 25th birthday in a dank and fetid cell in one of Iran’s most squalid prisons.
What could he possibly have done to deserve this? Majid Tavakkoli was a student leader studying ship building at Amir Kabir University of Technology and had the audacity to exercise his internationally guaranteed right to freedom of expression by making a speech to mark Students Day in December 2009, in which he criticized the government. He was arrested shortly thereafter and has been in prison ever since then. He was beaten in detention and held in solitary confinement.
Majid Tavakkoli on his 2nd birthday behind bars
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/may/18/3128
Nuclear talks call Iran’s bluff
Last week brought new indications that the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran want to make a nuclear bomb.
The disclosure was part of the newly released nine-page report by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It stated that “Tehran has conducted work on a highly sophisticated nuclear triggering technology that experts said could be used for only one purpose: setting off a nuclear weapon”.
This is not the first time that the IAEA has come across evidence that indicates Iran has military ambitions for its nuclear programme. In November 2009, as revealed by the Guardian, the IAEA asked the Iranian government to explain “evidence suggesting that Iranian scientists have experimented with an advanced nuclear warhead design”.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/may/29/nuclear-talks-iran-sanctions
‘Zionism has hijacked the identity of Judaism’
Een vreemde newspeak van een Rabby lijkt me.
Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss says that Zionism has hijacked the identity of Judaism and the Zionist regime is totally illegitimate according to the Torah.
Rabbi Weiss made the remarks in an interview with the Tehran Times on May 18.
He came to Iran to attend the International Conference on Global Alliance against Terrorism for a Just Peace, which was held in Tehran from May 14 to 15.
Rabbi Weiss is a member of Neturei Karta International, which is an organization of Jews opposed to Zionism.
During the interview, Rabbi Weiss discussed the views of religious orhtodox Jews on the establishment of the Zionist regime, which the Palestinians call the Nakba (the Catastrophe), and several other issues.
Following are excerpts of the remarks of Rabbi Weiss during the interview:
For Jews, the Nakba is a tragedy, it is a double tragedy.
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1323051
Iranian women political prisoners speak out against sexual threats
Female political prisoners in the quarantine section of Iran’s Evin Prison have issued a letter for Iranian Women’s Day, saying they have suffered repeated sexual threats by their interrogators.
The letter, which was published on the opposition website Kaleme, indicates that male interrogators have often forced these female activists “to make false self-incriminating confessions” by threatening them with sexual assault.
The letter indicates that sexual threats are commonly used to “break the resistance” of female detainees.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1280.html
Ahmadinejad Administration in Tensions With Revolutionary Guards — 600 Million Dollars in Embezzlement
Ertebatat Zirsakht telecommunications company – a government entity operating under the Ministry of Telecommunications – issued a warning to Iran’s main telecommunications agency, TCI that unless it paid up its debt, the country’s telecommunications with the outside world and even between the country’s provinces, would be cut off “in the near future.”
Ertebatat is the company that handles international Internet communications, inter-provincial and international telephone communications for Iran’s Telecommunication Company (also known as TCI or the Sherkate Mokhaberate Iran), the government agency that regulates all telecommunications.
Ertebatat split from TCI in 2008 and has been operating as an independent government agency since then. It has about 25 million land telephone subscribers, 41 million cell phone (mobile) subscribers and about a million data subscribers who receive services from TCI. According to the manager of TCI, Ertebatat made a net profit of 2.5 million Dollars.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1282.html
Ahmadinejad loses ground with Revolutionary Guards
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came under more fire today from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Supreme Leader’s representative at the Corps.
IRGC head Mohammad Ali Jafari today told a meeting of Basij university organizers: “The presence of certain political views and opinions among the people surrounding the presidency is becoming worrisome for those who care for the Revolution.”
Jafari added that one of the chief “blights of the Revolution” are those people who were once on the path of the Revolution and have now turned against it.
Meanwhile, Ayatollah Khamenei’s representative at IRGC, Ali Saidi, said today that the government has been afflicted with a “major disaster being infiltrated by corrupt elements.”
In an interview with Mehr News Agency, Saidi warned Ahmadinejad and his supporters in president’s office that they can count on the support of “the nation of Hezbollah and the clergy” on the condition that they remain committed to the supreme leadership.”
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/ahmadinejad-loses-ground-revolutionary-guards
Merkel Delay Due To ‘Technical Fault’
Iran has said a “technical problem” was to blame for briefly closing its airspace to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s plane as she flew to India, thereby delaying her arrival and sparking a diplomatic row.
Iran’s official IRAN news agency quoted foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast as saying that the problem , which occurred on May 31, “was caused only by a technical question that was immediately resolved.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/merkel_arrives_late_in_india_after_iran_blocks_plane/24210530.html
RAND: Iran’s Balancing Act in Afghanistan
The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to provide measured support to Taliban insurgents battling U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. However, Iran also maintains close and constructive relations with the same Afghan central government that is battling Taliban forces. Iran’s complex and, at times, contradictory set of cultural, religious, political, and security interests shapes its behavior in Afghanistan, to the benefit and detriment of U.S. objectives. This paper examines Iran’s objectives and interests in Afghanistan and the consequent Iranian policies affecting U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2011/may/31/rand-irans-balancing-act-afghanistan
Iran sees threat to its clout amid Arab Spring
Iran’s relationship with Syria gives it clout with a broad range of players. If Syria’s regime collapses, so too could Iran’s regional influence.
As Arab uprisings sweep the Middle East, few images will likely unsettle Iran’s leadership more than that of their flag being burned by Syrian protesters angry with the Islamic Republic’s deep ties with Syria’s dynastic regime.
Activists shouted “freedom” as they torched the flag in a protest broadcast online. It was just one of the many demonstrations against Bashar al-Assad’s government that have shaken Syria for months and led to at least 1,000 deaths.
Of all the regional revolts, Syria’s presents the biggest dilemma for Iran. Syria is the linchpin that connects Iran to the powerful Shiite Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah, along with Palestinian militant group Hamas, form the so-called “Axis of Resistance” against Israel and Western aims throughout the Middle East. But if Mr. Assad is forced from power, that axis – and Iran’s “soft power” reach in the region – could be in jeopardy.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0531/Iran-sees-threat-to-its-clout-amid-Arab-Spring?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fcsm+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+%7C+All+Stories%29
Iran and the Bomb
ABSTRACT: ANNALS OF NATIONAL SECURITY about whether Iran’s nuclear program is being exaggerated. Is Iran actively trying to develop nuclear weapons? Members of the Obama Administration often talk as if this were a foregone conclusion, as did their predecessors under George W. Bush. There’s a large body of evidence, however, including some of America’s most highly classified intelligence assessments, suggesting that the U.S. could be in danger of repeating a mistake similar to the one made with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq eight years ago—allowing anxieties about the policies of a tyrannical regime to distort our estimates of the state’s military capacities and intentions.
Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/06/06/110606fa_fact_hersh#ixzz1NxcvqQy2
Debate surrounding Iran’s first blinding-by-acid sentence
In the past month, the Iranian media has been awash with news of the first blinding-by-acid sentence issued by the Iranian judiciary. Majid Movahedi, an Iranian man, was convicted of throwing acid on the face of Amaneh Bahrami, an Iranian woman who rejected his marriage proposal. Bahrami was left blind in both eyes and severely disfigured by the attack and her assailant has been in prison for the past seven years.
Based on the Islamic principle of ghesas, which calls for punishment equivalent to what the crime inflicted, the judiciary has voted to have Movahedi blinded by acid.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1299.html
Photos: Detained Iranian Lawyer Makes A Defiant Appearance
Diese frau wird nog ein grosser problem fur die Iranischen justiesch
The first hearing to review whether Nasrin Sotoudeh – human rights lawyer who was the lawyer for many political prisoners – would be disbarred was held today at Iran Bar Association with Nasrin Sotoudeh in attendance. The final result was postponed for a later time and appeal hearing.
This morning (May 29, 2011) Nasrin Sotoudeh was brought in hand-cuffs from Evin prison to Iran Bar Association by two guards and a policewoman to attend the hearing.
In this hearing, which was held in one of the rooms at Iran Bar Association, Ms. Keyhani, member of the board of Iran Bar Association, and a group of lawyers reviewed the case for disbarring Nasrin Sotoudeh and decided to postpone the decision until a later time and appeal hearing.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/may/1292.html
Iran Vows to Unplug Internet
Iran is taking steps toward an aggressive new form of censorship: a so-called national Internet that could, in effect, disconnect Iranian cyberspace from the rest of the world.
The leadership in Iran sees the project as a way to end the fight for control of the Internet, according to observers of Iranian policy inside and outside the country. Iran, already among the most sophisticated nations in online censoring, also promotes its national Internet as a cost-saving measure for consumers and as a way to uphold Islamic moral codes.
In February, as pro-democracy protests spread rapidly across the Middle East and North Africa, Reza Bagheri Asl, director of the telecommunication ministry’s research institute, told an Iranian news agency that soon 60% of the nation’s homes and businesses would be on the new, internal network. Within two years it would extend to the entire country, he said.
Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704889404576277391449002016-lMyQjAxMTAxMDMwMDEzNDAyWj.html#ixzz1NxfpufGA
Bolivia Says Iranian Defense Minister Leaving
Bolivia says it has taken action to ensure that Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi has left Bolivia.
Vahidi is accused by Bolivia’s neighbor Argentina of helping plan the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.
Vahidi was reported to have come to Bolivia at the invitation of Bolivia’s Defense Ministry to help inaugurate a military academy.
In a letter to Argentina, Bolivia’s Foreign Ministry apologized for the invitation to Vahidi, saying Bolivian defense officials were not aware of the background of the Argentinian bomb case.
http://www.rferl.org/content/article/24211542.html
Iran activist dies after funeral scuffle: report
The daughter of a prominent veteran Iranian dissident died yesterday after security forces scuffled with mourners at her father’s funeral, opposition websites said.
Haleh Sahabi, 54, herself an opposition activist and women’s rights campaigner, had been allowed out of prison to attend the funeral of her father Ezatollah Sahabi. She fell in the scuffle and died of a cardiac arrest, the Kaleme website said.
The semi-official Mehr news agency reported sporadic clashes at the funeral but said Sahabi had died of a pre-existing heart condition and not because of rough handling.
“Security forces tried to interfere in the carrying of the body, she objected and security forces confronted her and other people present,” Kaleme said, adding that Sahabi was pushed to the ground. Another opposition site, Sahamnews, said a member of the security forces punched her in the stomach.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=438417&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17
U.S. demands answers in death of Iranian dissident
The State Department called on the government of Iran Wednesday to investigate the death of a human rights activist this week, reportedly after security forces got into a confrontation with mourners at her father’s funeral.
Haleh Sahabi, an opposition activist and women’s rights advocate, was arrested during Iran’s 2009 post-election crackdown and was given a two-year jail sentence. She was allowed out of prison to attend the funeral of her father, noted Iranian dissident Ezatollah Sahabi.
According to opposition websites, Sahabi was pushed to the ground during a scuffle between mourners and security forces and died of cardiac arrest. She was in her mid-50s.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/06/01/iran.dissident.death/index.html?section=cnn_latest
Khamenei: Government Should Implement the Law Without Excuses
This week’s remarks by Iran’s supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei mark as the final straw in the recent attacks against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his allies.
These remarks made to a group of Majlis representatives come as protests against the recent appointment of a new governor general in the province of Shiraz still continue and principlists in the Majlis have expressed their opposition to the planned visit by the government’s foreign minister to Saudi Arabia.
In addition to these pressures on Ahmadinejad and his administration, a group of Majlis representatives for the fourth time last week sent a letter to Majlis leader Ali Larijani calling for an investigation of Ahmadinejad’s constitutional violations.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1002.html
Iran says does not arrest anyone just for being Bahai: Official
Secretary General of the High Council for Human Rights Mohammad-Javad Larijani said on Wednesday the country does not arrest anyone under the excuse of being Bahai.
“We do not capture anyone in our country for being a member of Bahai community, but we do not let expansion of the community, since we do not recognize it as a religion. We will deal with Bahai community members as we do regarding other people if they want to act beyond the system’s rules,” he said.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1007.html
Green Coordination Council calls for demonstrations on 12 June anniversary
Just days ahead of the second anniversary of the 2009 presidential election, the Green Movement has called for fresh demonstrations to demand the release of movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi.
In a statement published on Tuesday, the Coordination Council of the Green Path of Hope, the Green Movement’s most important decision making body, invited Iranians to take part in silent protests on 12 June [1] to mark the second anniversary of the 2009 presidential election which was overshadowed by widespread vote rigging and unprecedented crackdown on protesters questioning the outcome of the election.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/jun/01/3148
The Ayatollah Will Overwhelm Ahmadinejad
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has now made the mistake that all Iranian presidents make: he has challenged the authority of the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He is doomed to fail.
The challenge posed by Ahmadinejad is such a predictable part of Iranian politics that it has come to be known as “the president’s symptom.” It emerges from a president’s confidence that, as a popularly elected leader, he should not be constrained by the Supreme Leader’s oversight. But the Islamic Republic’s history is littered with its presidents’ failed attempts to consolidate an independent power center. Ultimately, divine authority trumps political authority.
This dual authority is embedded in the Islamic Republic’s constitution, and inevitably tilts toward the divine, particularly in a president’s second term. Ahmadinejad is not an exception to this rule. In fact, because he has pushed harder than his predecessors, his star is falling faster. Moreover, the controversial presidential election of June 2009, and the political crisis that ensued, irreparably damaged Ahmadinejad’s democratic legitimacy. Khamenei was forced to use his authority to support the president, and has since repeatedly condemned the “Green Movement” that opposed Ahmadinejad’s re-election. As a result, Ahmadinejad has been the most costly president for Khamenei to date, because he forced the Supreme Leader to deplete his power in the face of a common enemy — a move that called into question his own judgment and tarnished his reputation.
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC06.php?CID=1642
Congress to End Program Supporting Hundreds of Persecuted Christians in Iran
Congress is planning to end an expense-free humanitarian program that grants heavily persecuted Christians and other religious minorities in Iran a safe avenue to apply for refugee status.
According to International Christian Concern, Congress may end the “Lautenberg Amendment,” which has received bipartisan support for more than 20 years. It fears that without the program many persecuted Iranian Christians unable to flee their country will face imprisonment or execution.
Earlier this year, Andrew Johnston, advocacy director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, and Mansour Borji, pastor of the Iranian Church in London, told the European Parliament’s Iran Delegation the situation was “dire” for the Evangelical Church in Iran.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/congress-to-end-program-supporting-hundreds-of-persecuted-christians-in-iran-50758/
The Real Power Struggle in Tehran
Some Iran observers are of the opinion that a genuine power struggle has been triggered in Iran between Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over the reinstatement of an ousted minister.
This, however, is not an accurate assessment of the situation, if only because it reduces the role of the supreme leader in Iranian politics to that of the president, thus taking for granted the Constitutional supremacy of Khamenei over all matters of state.
Also, one must take note of the fact that, according to conservative Tehran lawmaker Ahmad Tavakkoli, Ahmadinejad lacks the ability to utilize his popularity or electoral base for challenging, let alone undermining, the rule or authority of the supreme leader, which is another way of saying he lacks popularity [1].
The real power struggle, then, one that is increasingly becoming less obvious to the world but that has forced Khamenei and his allies to gradually withdraw their support for Ahmadinejad is between Ali Khamenei and reformist opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi who, along with Mehdi Karroubi, has been under house arrest for more than one hundred days now [2].
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1018.html
Haleh Sahabi dies in scuffle at father’s funeral
Haleh Sahabi, the daughter of Iranian dissident Ezzatollah Sahabi died from a heart attack after security forces descended upon her father’s funeral.
Mizan website, the news outlet associated with the Nationalist-religious Coalition wrote: “A security official tried to grab a photo of Mr. Sahabi that Haleh Sahabi was pressing against her chest. The force of his action and her resistance caused her to fall, and then she did not rise.”
Haleh Sahabi’s son, Yahya Shamekhi said: “When they brought the body of my grandfather, the officials refused to let the ceremony go on, and arguments ensued. They finally seized his corpse and took it away by force.”
An unidentified journalist told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran: “Haleh Sahabi suffered a heart attack after the plainclothes forces swarmed the scene and took the body of her father. She died on her way to Lavasan hospital.”
The report added that both plainclothes and uniformed security forces were present at the funeral and some engaged in beatings.
The head of Tehran Province Security Forces told ISNA, however, that Haleh Sahabi’s death was not related to the security forces, adding: “She suffered from heart problems, and this caused her death.”
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/haleh-sahabi-dies-scuffle-father%E2%80%99s-funeral
Haleh Sahabi given speedy burial
Activist Haleh Sahabi, who died yesterday at the funeral of her dissident father, was buried Wednesday night by Iranian security forces.
Opposition websites report that the Sahabi family had intended to hold their own ceremony, but security forces took possession of her remains by force and transferred her to Lavasan, northeast of Tehran, for a swift burial.
Jaras website reports that Sahabi was laid to rest at 10PM with 2,000 mourners in attendance, along with a substantial number of police and security force personnel. Jaras reports that several participants were arrested once the ceremony ended.
Haleh Sahabi died during an altercation with security forces at the funeral of her father, the prominent dissident Ezzatollah Sahabi.
The government has announced that Haleh Sahabi died from a cardiac arrest brought on by the stress of losing her father, the heat and her history of heart disease. However, a number of her relatives report that her death was the result of being beaten by security forces.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/haleh-sahabi-given-speedy-burial
Cartoon:
Father, Daughter…For Ezatollah and Haleh Sahabi
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/father-daughterfor-ezatollah-and-haleh-sahabi
Jailed Iranian Journalist Beaten In Front Of Relatives
A jailed Iranian journalist was briefly hospitalized after being severely beaten by a prison guard on June 2, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
The mother of journalist Masoud Bastani, 31, his wife, and mother-in-law witnessed the beating in the Rajaishahr prison in the city of Karaj. They say Bastani asked the guards if he could talk with his visiting relatives for a few minutes longer.
“As the visiting hours were drawing to an end, Masoud asked for a couple of more minutes so he could say his goodbyes to us all, then a guard grabbed him by the collar and banged his head against the wall,” Bastani’s mother, Masoumeh Malouol, told Radio Farda on June 2.
http://www.rferl.org/content/jailed_iranian_journalist_beaten_in_front_of_relatives/24214800.html
Anonymous leaks 10,000 ‘top secret’ Iranian gov’t emails
Hacker group Anonymous has leaked 10,365 “top secret” emails from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Anonymous says the files were accessed after the group infiltrated the Iranian Passport and Visa Office email center. All the files are currently available for download from MediaFire , as well as various BitTorrent sources.
Most of the emails concern visa applications for “an oil meeting,” according to an unnamed source who spoke with the International Business Times. And “many” of those are reportedly for people “from China.” A quick perusing of the files shows that, in most case, the emails are from Iranian government officials alerting visa applicants of their status.
The initial attack apparently took place a number of days ago, and the Iranian government has been actively trying to keep news of the breach covered up. An Anonymous member said that the attacks were carried out in an attempt to damage Iran’s image in “both cyber space and the real world.â€
As of this writing, the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still down. According to a user of the #OpIran IRC channel, the attack on the mail servers “is a multi-site incursion using a variety of exploits and hand-crafted methods.” The user added that “the action [against the servers] is considered ongoing,” but said that there is new “information under review.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20110603/tc_digitaltrends/anonymousleaks10000topsecretiraniangovtemails_1
Schism between Ahmadinejad, Khamenei could lead to Iran President’s removal
Ayatollah Abdolnabi Namazi, Assembly of Experts member and representative of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the city of Kashan recently reported on his website that the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Mohammad Ali Jafari, had asked Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.Khamenei for permission to arrest all those involved in an attempt to remove Khamenei and to harm the rule of the jurisprudent in Iran.
Namazi said that Khamenei had approved Jafari’s request, but demanded that “the president of the country be spared.”
In recent days, senior regime officials have called for the arrest of Rahim-Mashai, the director of Ahmadinejad’s office.
http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/world/news/71633/
Torture at Evin prison: Journalist’s own experiences and his interviews with 19 political prisoners
In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, journalist Saeed Pourheydar, who was arrested twice after the 2009 election and eventually sentenced to five years in prison, described his prison abuse, charges, his detention conditions inside Evin Prison, and the torture of other political prisoners.
Saeed Pourheydar is a journalist who formerly worked for several reformist newspapers. He told the Campaign that after the 2009 presidential election, he was arrested twice: once on 6 February 2010 at his home when he was arrested by Intelligence Ministry and served one month inside Ward 240 of Evin Prison, and another time on 10 October 2010, when he was detained after being summoned to Evin Prison Court and spent 52 days in prison until his appeals court issued a ruling. When the appeals court upheld his conviction, Pourheydar left Iran and currently resides abroad.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/jun/03/3155
Iran protest dispersed by force: witnesses
Iranian security forces on Saturday fired in the air to disperse several hundred people protesting against the death at her father’s funeral of political and social activist Haleh Sahabi, witnesses said.
The protesters had tried to gather to gather in silent groups outside the Hosseini Ershad mosque in northern Tehran, a traditional site for reformists in the Iranian regime, the witnesses told AFP.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/jun/04/3157?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+irangreenvoice%2FEn+%28Iran+Green+Voice+-+English%29
“Dozens arrested” at service for Iran activist: report
In navolging op je reactie Wachteres.
Elke demonstratie word in Iran met harde hand neergeslagen.
Dozens of people were arrested at a commemoration service Saturday for an Iranian activist who died at her father’s funeral earlier in the week after a scuffle with security forces, an opposition website reported.
The Kaleme website said security forces in Tehran beat up several mourners at the service held, as is traditional in Iran, three days after the death of Haleh Sahabi.
Sahabi, 54, died of a cardiac arrest at the funeral of her father Ezatollah, a prominent veteran dissident, Wednesday. Opposition websites said she was either pushed or punched by security forces, something government-sanctioned news agencies denied.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/04/us-iran-activist-arrests-idUSTRE75328520110604?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
Iran backs Arab uprisings unless pro-U.S.: Khamenei.
Es konnte sein das es dan schwieriger ist fur die Fundi’s die macht zu ubernehmen.
Iran backs all Muslim uprisings except those stirred up by Washington, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday, a stance that explains Tehran’s lack of support for anti-government protesters in ally Syria.
Addressing a crowd commemorating the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Khamenei said the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution had predicted events in the Middle East over the last few months where Arabs have risen up against oppressive regimes.
Non-Arab, predominantly Shi’ite Muslim Iran relished the fall in February of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a U.S.-backed secularist who made peace with Israel.
Tehran has also voiced support for pro-democracy movements elsewhere in the region, especially Bahrain where the Sunni monarchy was aided by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to put down democracy protests led by majority Shi’ite Muslims.
But the Islamic Republic, which crushed its own mass protests after the disputed re-election of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009, has not expressed backing for demonstrators in Syria where President Bashar al-Assad is a key regional ally.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110604/wl_nm/us_iran_khamenei_1
Tragedy in Tehran
Besser gesagt mord in die strassen von Teheran.
On the Death of Haleh Sahabi, Women’s Rights Activist and Member of Mothers for Peace
A father dies after a month in coma following a brain hemorrhage. His daughter is allowed to leave Evin prison to say her goodbyes. The authorities allow for the funeral procession. She stands in front of the crowd holding flowers. The plainclothes men of the Islamic Republic of Iran, trained to be vicious and merciless, attack her and beat her; she falls on the ground and dies. It is unfathomable but it happened just two days ago in plain daylight in Iran’s capital.
Haleh Sahabi who died at the funeral of her father was a member of Mothers for Peace; she had been sentenced to two years of imprisonment for her peaceful activism. She was the daughter of a leading member of Iran’s Freedom Movement, an organization that dated back to the Shah’s time. Her father had been in prison both under the Shah and under the Islamic Republic and tortured. He was eighty three when he died. She was in her mid fifties. They were buried side by side in a cemetery outside Tehran. Three generations of a well- known family-grandfather, father and daughter had fought for freedom and gone to prison for it.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1036.html
Iran: Security Forces Intimidate Banned Students
Iran’s Council for the Defence of Education Rights says Iranian security forces have threatened expelled university students to keep them from protesting against their own expulsion.
In an announcement issued today, the council writes that the so-called “starred students” [students branded as those to be denied higher education], have been summoned to police and security forces offices in advance of the release of results of the graduate student placement entrance exam. They have reportedly been threatened and intimidated to prevent them from protesting.
In the past six years, during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presidency, scores of political and social activists have been banned from continuing their university studies.
The Council for the Defence of Education Rights maintains that this trend is in violation of both domestic and international laws and has called for the perpetrators of this “criminal act” to be prosecuted.
The council says “starred students” have had their report cards altered, or have been given failing grades in subjects where their performance put them at the top of the class.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1033.html
Dozens arrested at service for Iranian activist – report
Dozens of people were arrested at a commemoration service Saturday for an Iranian activist who died at her father’s funeral earlier in the week after a scuffle with security forces, an opposition website reported.
The Kaleme website said security forces in Tehran beat up several mourners at the service held, as is traditional in Iran, three days after the death of Haleh Sahabi.
Sahabi, 54, died of a cardiac arrest at the funeral of her father Ezatollah, a prominent veteran dissident, Wednesday. Opposition websites said she was either pushed or punched by security forces, something government-sanctioned news agencies denied.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/4917/dozens-arrested-at-service-for-iranian-activist—report
Iran Says Baha’i University Illegal
The Baha’i Institute of Higher Education (BIHE) in Iran has been declared an “illegal” organization by the Ministry of Science and Technology.
ISNA cites the ministry’s announcement that “the online university BIHE has not received any ministry permits for operation, and all its activities are illegal.”
The ministry also maintained that all diplomas and degrees issued by this institution “lack legal validity.”
Iranian security forces had previously shut down science and research facilities at the Baha’i Open University in Tehran and arrested a number of its staff in several cities.
The international Baha’i community reports that at least 30 Baha’is were arrested on May 22 in Tehran, Karaj, Esfahan and Shiraz in.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1044.html
Iran Women’s Olympic Dream Crushed By Dress Code Ruling
Iran’s hopes of competing in the London 2012 Olympic women’s soccer tournament have been crushed by a ruling that their Islamic dress broke FIFA rules.
Iran is complaining to the world soccer body after its women were banned from playing, moments before an Olympic qualifier against Jordan last week, due to their full-body uniform that includes a head scarf.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_womens_olympic_dream_crushed_by_dress_code_ruling/24225430.html
‘Iran could produce a nuclear weapon within two months’ it is claimed as U.N. atomic watchdog reveals concerns
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1394901/Iran-produce-nuclear-weapon-months-claimed-U-N-atomic-watchdog-reveals-concerns.html#ixzz1OWzT2900
Iranian police to tighten security over public dress code
Islamic Republic police has announced they will heighten the enforcement of dress-code laws all across Iran.
Mehr News Agency quotes Ahmadreza Radan, the deputy commander of the security forces, saying: “Those with a history of violating the hijab [Islamic dress code] and the manufacturers of inappropriate clothing will be dealt with.”
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iranian-police-tighten-security-over-public-dress-code
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Sexual assault on campus triggers student protests
The campus of Ferdowsi University in Mashhad has been the scene of protests for more than two days following news that a female student was assaulted and raped.
The university’s failure to respond or react has triggered widespread outrage among the student body yesterday, when the news of their peer’s ordeal was published. The protests reportedly started at the women’s dorm and later spread across the campus.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/sexual-assault-campus-triggers-student-protests
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In Iran, Beware Of New Facebook ‘Friends’
When Houshang Fanaian joined Facebook last year, little did he expect it would land him in an Iranian prison.
That’s exactly where he finds himself today, however. In late May, the 47-year-old Baha’i had one year tacked on to a larger prison sentence due to his activities on the social-networking site.
Iran has blocked access to Facebook, but that has not prevented tens of thousands of Iranians from joining the site to connect with each other and share ideas, pictures, and even sensitive political content.
For the most part, the Iranian regime stood idly by if its efforts to block Facebook were circumvented.
Fanaian’s sentencing is a rarity, but his case and others indicate that Iranian authorities are keeping a closer eye on Iranians’ Facebook activities.
Among the more recent posts on his Facebook page are pictures of cute babies, an article about the „negative side effects“ of artificial sugar, and a few news stories about the arrests of Baha’is.
The Baha’i faith is not recognized by the Islamic republic, and Fanaian’s wife believes that his activism on Baha’i issues led to his February arrest and subsequent charges of acting against national security and insulting the country’s supreme leader.
http://www.rferl.org/content/if_youre_iranian_beware_of_new_facebook_friends/24228798.html
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Iran Vows To Triple Uranium-Enrichment Capacity
International tensions over Iran’s disputed nuclear program looked set to rise further today after the country’s atomic energy chief announced plans to drastically step up production of enriched uranium.
Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani also said output would be transferred from Natanz to a new secretly-built facility at Fordow, near Qom, whose existence paved the way for a fresh round of United Nations sanctions against Iran when it was revealed in 2009.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_to_enrich_uranium_to_20_percent_at_fordow_site/24228485.html
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Iran’s ‘Blogfather’ Loses Appeal Against Prison Sentence
An Iranian appeals court has upheld a 19 1/2-year jail term for Iranian Canadian blogger Hossein Derakhshan, his family has told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda.
Derakhshan has also been banned from being a member of a journalistic or political organization for five years.
Derakhshan, known as Iran’s „Blogfather“ for helping popularize blogging in Iran, was convicted over his 2006 visit to Israel and his writings.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_blogfather_loses_appeal_against_prison_sentence/24228980.html
Secret mass executions in Iranian prison.
Sixteen prisoners were secretly hanged at Mashhad’s Vakilabad Prison on May 23 and 24, says the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, citing “reliable sources.”
It reports that on May 23, twelve prisoners were hanged for drug charges. The next day, three sisters were hanged for drug charges and a convicted rapist was executed.
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran had earlier reported that over the past two and a half months, 70 prisoners have been hanged in Vakilabad Prison. The campaign contends that the executions were drug related and carried out secretly and en masse.
The campaign maintains that the prisoners were executed without prior notification to the families and lawyers of the prisoners
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/secret-mass-executions-iranian-prison
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Mashad’s Prison Is Hell, Says Political Prisoner’s Wife
Hashem Khastar, leader of the Mashad Teachers Union and prisoner at Mashad’s Vakilabad Prison, was transferred to the ward for murder and drug trafficking convicts after publishing a letter exposing the inhumane conditions and secret executions at Vakilabad.
In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Sedigheh Maleki, Khastar’s wife, expressed concern about his conditions. “Two days after Mr. Khastar was transferred from the ward of prisoners of conscience to Ward 5 which is where murderers and other hardened criminals are kept, I went to the Revolutionary Court to find out the reason for his transfer. One of the officials told me that because he wrote letters about the conditions at Vakilabad Prison, he was transferred to another ward so that he can directly experience the other things that happen in this prison. He told me to leave and that they would transfer Mr. Khastar back to the ward of prisoners of conscience, which has not happened so far.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1085.html
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Behind the Big Fight At Opec
Jetzt wirds interessant fur das westen
Big fight at the OPEC corral means possibly lower gas prices for you and me — if the pro-production wing wins.
The meeting ended in acrimony, amid name calling, likely one of the worst meetings ever, said Saudi Arabia’s top oil minister.
What’s behind the fight? Food inflation. Iran, Venezuela, Algeria and Angola subsidize food in their countries, using oil reserves. Food prices are going up. Tensions in the region are going up. And Libya blew up in chaos in its own version of the Arab spring, due to corruption and tension over higher prices.
Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/06/09/behind-big-fight-at-opec/#ixzz1OoEnpExO
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Syrians vow new protests, Paris charges ‘massacre’
Pro-democracy activists vowed more protests against President Bashar al-Assad for Friday, as his regime came under increased international pressure and faced “massacre” accusations.
Ahead of a convoy of troops and tanks reportedly converging on Jisr al-Shughur in northwest Syria, hundreds of the flashpoint town’s residents were fleeing to Turkey, the nearest foreign haven.
The number of Syrians who have fled to Turkey has increased to 2,500, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Thursday.
Pouring in through barbed wire or unguarded stretches of the border, the refugees included several dozen people who were hospitalised for treatment of injuries reportedly sustained in security crackdowns.
Speaking from hospital beds, some of the wounded refugees charged that Iranian forces in black uniforms had been taking an active part in crushing the pro-democracy protests.
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/west-seeks-un-vote-condemning-syria-040246549.html
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OPEC’s facade of unity crumbles as Iran challenges Saudi dominance; cartel’s power erodes
OPEC’s stunning admission of major dissent within its ranks has left it reeling and its status as the world’s oil power-broker tarnished, perhaps beyond repair. But is a weakened cartel good or bad for consumers?
The major question is what will happen to oil prices in the long term as a newly strengthened Iran takes on traditional OPEC heavyweight Saudi Arabia in what some see as a proxy attack on the United States, the Saudis’ ally and Iran’s longtime foe.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which sells more than a third of the world’s crude, has commonly been seen as a price regulator, pumping more or less as it deemed fit and leading to complaints of price fixing from major consumers.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/opecs-facade-of-unity-crumbles-as-iran-challenges-saudi-dominance-cartels-power-erodes/2011/06/09/AGuSuGNH_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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U.S. Announces New Sanctions Against Iran
The United States has announced sanctions against three Iranian groups and one person over human rights abuses in Iran since the country’s disputed 2009 presidential election.
The Treasury Department said on June 9 that the sanctions apply to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the Basij militia, Iran’s police forces and its commander, Esmail Ahmadi Moghadam.
http://www.rferl.org/content/un_announces_new_sanctions_against_iran/24229979.html
Syrian refugees say Iranian forces involved in crackdown
AFP reports that Iranian troops are in Syria supporting the regime of Beshar Assad, according to injured Syrian refugees in Turkey.
The refugees say they were victims of “Iranian military forces,” but Iran has dismissed the allegations as “baseless.”
Mostafa, an injured Syrian refugee, said: “There were both plainclothes and uniformed Iranian soldiers. I saw them with my own eyes. We asked them not to attack us, but they didn’t speak Arabic.”
The 23-year-old man added that his attackers wore black shirts, which is uncommon in Syria, and wore beards. He added that the Syrian military is forbidden to wear beards.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/syrian-refugees-say-iranian-forces-involved-crackdown
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Saudi Arabia lost its dominance in OPEC, Iran is new powerhouse: Analysts
Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council countries’ historic failure at the 159th meeting of OPEC to increase the oil production, means that the new powerhouse in OPEC is Iran, oil analysts and energy experts stated.
Saudi Arabia is angry because of failure to satisfy OPEC’s member for increasing production, said analysts aftermath of the OPEC meeting which was hold in Vienna on Wednesday.
While Saudi oil minister called 159th meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries as “the worst meeting OPEC have ever had”, the group’s Secretary General Abdalla Salem el-Badri said: the failure of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to reach a consensus at its meeting Wednesday was a normal dispute that doesn’t mean its quota system is dead.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1094.html
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Dire human rights situation persists t wo years after disputed election
Two years after the disputed election of 12 June 2009 which saw President Mahmoud Ahmadinejhad returned to power, the human rights situation in Iran remains dire.
The security forces continue to use violence against peaceful protestors and have carried out thousands of arrests. Many detainees have been tortured or otherwise ill-treated and hundreds have been sentenced to prison terms and in some case death after grossly unfair trials. Prison conditions are harsh.
Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who stood against President Ahmadinejhad in the June 2009 election, have been held under house arrest, together with their wives, Zahra Rahnavard and Fatemeh Karroubi, for more than 100 days without any legal order.
Some of those who have sought to expose human rights violations and the all pervasive climate of impunity that prevails, such as Mehdi Mahmoudian who compiled information about torture of detainees, have been imprisoned while lawyers who have defended those targeted by the state have themselves been targeted for legitimately pursuing their profession.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1095.html
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NY Congressional Representatives and Community Leaders Mark Second Anniversary of “Stolen Election” in Iran
New York political and community leaders gathered at City Hall on Friday to present the Iran180 Hero Awards to dissidents and activists who are demanding real and immediate change from the Iranian regime. The event marked the second anniversary of the stolen 2009 Iranian presidential election when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was named to a second term. Iran180, a coalition of people and organizations who have come together to demand that the Iranian government change course by halting its brutal treatment of its citizens and stopping the development of nuclear weapons, initiated the event.
The Iran180 Hero awards honor and show support for those working courageously to demand basic human rights in Iran and to stand up against the repressive policies and practices of this regime. Iran180 reviewed many candidates for the awards; the final honorees were selected not only for their courageous work in standing up for the people of Iran and in loudly condemning the atrocities perpetrated by the Iranian government, but also utilizing their resources and talents to help shift world public opinion on the need for the Iranian government to “do a 180 degree” turn and start respecting basic human rights.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/NY-Congressional-prnews-3369018850.html?x=0&.v=1
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Iranian Women Lead the Persian Spring
On Thursday June 2, 2001, women’s rights activist, Haleh Sahabi (aged 54) was killed as a result of brutal beatings by the Iranian regime’s security forces. Her body was later snatched from her house and buried secretly to curb the outcry of the family, friends and ordinary Iranians. Haleh, a political prisoner, had been let out of prison temporarily to attend her father’s funeral.
The regime’s heinous actions drew outrage at home and abroad. The State Department condemned “the killing of Iranian activist Haleh Sahabi in the strongest possible terms.” Britain also called for an immediate investigation into her death.
Haleh’s killing is the latest case of state-sponsored murder by the regime ruling Iran. The past three decades abound with examples of state-sponsored killing of dissidents. On April 8, 2011, Tehran used its Iraqi proxies to crack down on exiled opponents. The Iraqi Army, using armored personnel carriers and Humvees, attacked unarmed Iranian dissidents in Camp Ashraf, north of Baghdad, killing 35, including eight women, and injuring hundreds.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/soona-samsami/iranian-women-lead-the-pe_b_875105.html
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Two years after polls, Ahmadinejad in new battle
Two years ago, Iran’s reformists were stunned to see him re-elected president and said the election must have been fixed.
Now, halfway through his second and final term, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has silenced the opposition—their rallies crushed and leaders under house arrest—but his presidency is still threatened, this time from rival fellow hardliners.
Critics in parliament, the judiciary and the clergy accuse the 54-year-old president of misdeeds ranging from a swaggering disrespect for other branches of government, through financial mismanagement, to being influenced by a “deviant” clique of aides some say are involved in sorcery.
Analysts say the fact that he can no longer rely on the complete support of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—who forced him to reverse his decision to sack his intelligence minister in April—means Ahmadinejad risks becoming a lame duck or even being forced out
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=440193&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17
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Sarah Shourd: ‘All I did was cry and beat at the walls’
Incl. video.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/9508967.stm
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Iran claims agent infiltrated opposition and foreign intelligence units
Viel propaganda darzu.
Mohammad Reza Madhi reported to have met top US officials including Hillary Clinton
Iran has claimed that one of its spies acted as a double agent and infiltrated the Iranian opposition movement as well as foreign intelligence units.
Iran’s state television has broadcast a documentary showing a man, identified as Mohammad Reza Madhi, who it said worked his way into the heart of the opposition outside the country and even succeeded in meeting western officials including the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, and the vice president, Joe Biden.
Some opposition groups have questioned the veracity of the claims, raising the possibility that Madhi had been arrested or forced to return to Iran as a result of pressure put on his family at home.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/10/iran-claims-agent-infiltrated-opposition
God, Please Rescue Him’
The sister of blogger Hossein Derakhshan, whose 19.5-year prison sentence was confirmed last week by an appeals court in Iran, has reacted on “Justice For Hossein Derakhshan,” the blog which the family launched last year.
The sentence against the 36-year-old Derakhshan, who blogged under the name Hoder, is one of the longest prison terms given to a blogger in the Islamic republic.
Derakhshan played a key part in helping to popularize blogging in Iran. He was convicted over a 2006 visit to Israel and his writings. Charges against him included working with hostile governments, propaganda against the state, and insulting religious sanctities.
http://www.rferl.org/content/hossein_derakhshan_iran_blogger/24231876.html
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In Age Of Arab Revolution, Iran’s Election Anniversary Set To Go Off With A Whimper
Two years ago, it threatened to trigger a wave of dissent that would reverberate around the Middle East and beyond.
Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, took to the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities to protest the reelection of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, a poll that opponents claimed was rigged.
Yet on June 12, with much of the region in a state of revolutionary ferment, the second anniversary of Iran’s bitterly disputed presidential election is likely to pass off as little more than a footnote.
Representatives of the Green Movement — the umbrella opposition group nominally led by defeated presidential candidates Mir Hossein Musavi and Mehdi Karrubi — have called for the day to be marked by a “silent demonstration” in Tehran’s Valiasr Street.
While some protesters may indeed turn out, the appeal is unlikely to have popular resonance. Musavi and Karrubi have been under house arrest since February after calling for protests at that time. Worse still, some observers say, is the fact that the latest call for protests is being voiced by opposition voices abroad, such as Musavi’s Paris-based spokesman Amir Ardeshir Arjmand.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_green_movement_election_second_anniversary/24231771.html
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Iraq bars U.S. visit to Iranian camp
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told a visiting U.S. congressional delegation Friday that it could not visit a camp of Iranian dissidents where 34 people died in clashes with Iraqi security forces in April, the delegation’s head said.
After arriving in Baghdad on Friday morning, the six-member group led by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) met with Maliki to discuss reconstruction efforts and conditions at Camp Ashraf. The facility is home to 3,000 Iranians who are part of Mujaheddin-e-Khalq, or MEK, a banned Iranian opposition group.
Rohrabacher said that the delegation had hoped to visit the camp Friday on their way to Kurdistan but that Maliki denied their request, citing Iraq’s sovereignty.
Rohrabacher, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he will now press for a “criminal” probe of whether Iraq has mistreated the dissidents.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/war-zones/iraq-bars-us-visit-to-iranian-camp/2011/06/10/AGqpHFPH_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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Syrian refugees say Iranian forces involved in crackdown
AFP reports that Iranian troops are in Syria supporting the regime of Beshar Assad, according to injured Syrian refugees in Turkey. The refugees say they were victims of “Iranian military forces,” but Iran has dismissed the allegations as “baseless.”
Mostafa, an injured Syrian refugee, said: “There were both plainclothes and uniformed Iranian soldiers. I saw them with my own eyes. We asked them not to attack us, but they didn’t speak Arabic.”
The 23-year-old man added that his attackers wore black shirts, which is uncommon in Syria, and wore beards. He added that the Syrian military is forbidden to wear beards.
A 17-year-old Syrian student named Akram reported: “Most of these people are snipers. They do not speak Arabic and, most significantly, they carry weapons that are unfamiliar to us.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1103.html
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Rape and Torture: Legacy of the Post-Election Crackdown
Video Testimony from a Young Woman Raped in Detention, Most Detailed Account to Date
UN Special Rapporteur Should Investigate Rape Allegations in Light of Rampant Impunity
On the second anniversary of the disputed June 2009 election and the ensuing repression, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran today released video testimony from a young female detainee describing in detail her severe torture and repeated rape after her arbitrary arrest.
Her forceful testimony challenges the Iranian authorities’ official narrative, which denies widespread use of torture and rape by security forces against ordinary protestors.
“Rape is one of the worst forms of torture and allegation after allegation of sadistic torture and sexual abuse continue to emerge,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the Campaign’s spokesperson.
“How can the Iranian Judiciary claim a shred of legitimacy if it continues to shield the perpetrators of such atrocities? Its credibility is gone with the wind as it promotes a climate of rampant impunity,” he added.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1102.html
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Senior Mousavi aide: Protests after 12 June will not be ‘silent’
A top advisor to Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, has said that after the 12th of June protests, anti-government demonstrations will not be held in silence.
In a statement published on Tuesday, the Coordination Council of the Green Path of Hope, the Green Movement’s highest decision-making body, called for “silent” protests on 12 June to mark the second anniversary of the 2009 presidential election. The race was overshadowed by widespread vote rigging and unprecedented crackdown on protesters questioning the election outcome.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/jun/06/3158
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Jailed Iran Activist Dies After Hunger Strike
The sister of prominent Iranian journalist and rights activist Reza Hoda Saber has confirmed her jailed brother’s death following a 10-day hunger strike, according to RFE/RL’s Radio Farda.
Saber had been transferred to a hospital from Tehran’s Evin prison, where he had been held since being imprisoned along with hundreds of other activists and intellectuals in the wake of Iran’s disputed June 2009 election.
http://www.rferl.org/content/prominent_iran_activist_dies_after_hunger_strike_in_jail/24232648.html
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Two years after Iran’s marred election, hard-liners anything but triumphant
Two years ago today, Iranians cast ballots in a presidential election that would yield violence and change in the Islamic Republic like no vote before it.
In an election marred with allegations of blatant fraud, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was given a landslide reelection victory that was hailed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a “divine assessment.”
Yet today the testy president and his aides have challenged the power of Ayatollah Khamenei. Conservative rivals now dismiss them as a “deviant current” obsessed with the imminent return of the Shiite messiah.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0612/Two-years-after-Iran-s-marred-election-hard-liners-anything-but-triumphant?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fcsm+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+%7C+All+Stories%29
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Iranian security forces attack silent rally in Tehran
Iranian security officials have used baton charges and tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters at a silent rally in central Tehran marking the second anniversary of the country’s disputed presidential election.
Riot police and plainclothes basij militia were deployed in various locations in the capital, arresting at least tens of protesters.
Supporters of the opposition green movement marched in groups along Vali-e-Asr street – the city’s main commercial thoroughfare and a rallying point for protesters in recent years.
A protester told the Guardian that demonstrators mainly marched on the pavement, and – as requested by the organisers – did not shout any anti-regime slogans.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/12/iranian-security-forces-rally-tehran
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Stay up to date with the latest from 12 June anniversary protests
On the second anniversary of the rigged 2009 presidential election that saw the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, supporters of the Green Movement will be staging protests across the country. The Coordination Council of the Green Path of Hope, has called on protesters to gather on the pavements of the important Vali-Asr Avenue in Tehran.
We will be keeping you posted on the latest developments as they unfold:
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/content/3172?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+irangreenvoice%2FEn+%28Iran+Green+Voice+-+English%29
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Rape and torture: Legacy of the post-election crackdown
Video Testimony from a Young Woman Raped in Detention, Most Detailed Account to Date
UN Special Rapporteur Should Investigate Rape Allegations in Light of Rampant Impunity
On the second anniversary of the disputed June 2009 election and the ensuing repression, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran today released video testimony from a young female detainee describing in detail her severe torture and repeated rape after her arbitrary arrest.
Her forceful testimony challenges the Iranian authorities’ official narrative, which denies widespread use of torture and rape by security forces against ordinary protestors.
“Rape is one of the worst forms of torture and allegation after allegation of sadistic torture and sexual abuse continue to emerge,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the Campaign’s spokesperson.
“How can the Iranian Judiciary claim a shred of legitimacy if it continues to shield the perpetrators of such atrocities? Its credibility is gone with the wind as it promotes a climate of rampant impunity,” he added.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/jun/12/3170?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+irangreenvoice%2FEn+%28Iran+Green+Voice+-+English%29
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Syria’s Wounded Refugees: Tales of Massacre and Honorable Soldiers
The regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad doesn’t make threats lightly. And as they confronted the uprising in the town of Jisr al-Shughour, government security forces were blunt, according to the medical staff in area’s small hospitals and the local Red Crescent outpost there. Saving a wounded protester’s life could cost them their own. As a result, private medical clinics closed and doctors in the northern Syrian town’s public hospital fled. Of 200 Red Crescent volunteers, only five defied the threats to continue working, including “Abu Taha,” a 29- year-old volunteer ambulance driver whose bravery earned him a bullet in the back.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2077207,00.html?xid=rss-topstories
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Former president once again demands release of opposition leaders
Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami has called once again for the release of opposition leaders MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who have been under house arrest since February.
Khatami’s personal website reports on his meeting with the people of Khorramshahr on the eve of the anniversary of the controversial 2009 presidential election. The former president said the release of the opposition leaders and their wives would “soften the political atmosphere” of the country.
He added that the release of the opposition leaders and freedom for all political prisoners would be a giant step toward transforming the “current security conditions into a healthy political atmosphere.”
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/former-president-once-again-demands-release-opposition-leaders
Lebanon gets Hezbollah-led cabinet after 5-month lag
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced Monday a long-delayed government dominated by Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies, which is likely to cause alarm among Western powers at a time of regional turmoil.
Formed after five months of political stalemate, the new Lebanese leadership was welcomed by President Bashar al-Assad of neighboring Syria, another Hezbollah sponsor now beset by international censure of its crackdowns of anti-regime protests.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/13/us-lebanon-government-idUSTRE75C48K20110613?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
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Syria crisis and Middle East unrest – live updates
• Syrian troops round up hundreds near Jisr al-Shougour
• Crowd throws stones and bottles at King of Jordan
• FBI ‘brought in to investigate attack on Yemen’s Saleh’
• Gaddafi plays chess on TV and vows not to leave Libya
• Gay Girl hoaxer: watch Esther Addley’s interview
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/jun/13/syria-crisis-middle-east-unrest
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The Syrian Gambit
A piece of the puzzle that Tehran built is beginning to weaken.
With a full-on rebellion beginning to take shape in Syria, it seems the relative nonviolence of spring is turning into a violent summer as it already has done in Libya. Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has made it clear to his people that despite his talk of reform he intends on hanging onto power by any means necessary.
In this case, his means of remaining in power involves shooting at civilians and making them appear to have been combatants as allegedly seen on a video posted on YouTube that was shot in the city of Jisr al-Shugur. While the Iranians were able to tolerate uprisings in countries that weren’t allied with them over the past few months once Syria got added into the mix Iranian leaders said this uprising was clearly a “Zionist conspiracy.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110613/us_ac/8630167_the_syrian_gambit_1
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Silent Tehran Protesters Arrested On Anniversary Of Disputed Vote
Arrests and clashes have been reported in Tehran on the anniversary of the disputed 2009 reelection of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad that led to mass street protests. Opposition websites and witnesses say dozens were arrested in the Iranian capital on June 12 while marching silently to mark the anniversary.
The opposition Kalame website reported that several hundred Iranians were detained on Vali Asr Street while marching peacefully.
“Demonstrators remained silent and calm even while they were being detained,” Kalame said, citing its reporters in Tehran.
A demonstrator told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda that many opposition supporters marched under the eyes of the security forces.
“We started walking on Vali Asr Street. As [expected] special forces were deployed on both sides of the street like a human wall,” the man said. “But people ignored them and continued walking on the sidewalks without chanting.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1119.html
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Rule-Of-Law Index Ranks Iran Last In World On Fundamental Rights
An annual survey on the rule of law has ranked Iran last in the world for the protection of fundamental rights, saying Iranian law enforcement is used often to perpetrate abuses against citizens.
The World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, which ranks countries on such key areas as whether the government is held accountable, there is access to justice, rights are protected, and crime and corruption is prevented, is funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1125.html
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Clinton Accuses Iran Of Role In Syrian Crackdown
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has accused Iran of backing Syria’s “vicious assaults” against pro-democracy protesters.
In a statement, Clinton highlighted that Iran’s alleged complicity in abuses coincides with the two-year anniversary of Iran’s crackdown on protests after the contested election that gave another term to President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.
http://www.rferl.org/content/clinton_accuses_iran_role_in_syria_crackdown/24235046.html
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Iranian Police, Cleric Blame Victims In Isfahan Gang Rapes
Iran’s chief prosecutor, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, says 14 men have been arrested and charged over an alleged gang rape at a party near the central city of Isfahan last month, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
The men allegedly crashed a party in the city of Khomeini Shahr late last month, locked all the men in a room, and raped the women attending the party.
Colonel Hossein Hosseinzadeh, chief of the police department’s detectives bureau in Isfahan, was quoted in Iranian media as saying, “If the women at the party had worn their hijab properly, they might not have been persecuted.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_police_cleric_blame_victims_in_isfahan_rapes/24234921.html
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PERSIAN LETTERS: ‘They Would Arrest Young And Beautiful Girls’
On his blog, Mehdi Khazali has written his observations of the June 12 “silent” opposition protest that took place in Tehran on the second anniversary of the 2009 disputed presidential vote, which led to the rise of the opposition Green Movement.
Opposition websites reported that dozens of protesters were detained.
Khazali, the son of a prominent hard-line cleric, is an opposition supporter and a critic of the Iranian establishment. He was arrested in the postelection crackdown in June 2009.
Maybe they were arresting mostly good-looking people. I’m not joking. I saw with my own eyes that they would arrest young and beautiful girls. Maybe they see them as war trophies.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1129.html
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Worldwide outrage at Iran’s attack on Baha’i educators
Governments, organisations and educators have condemned Iran’s latest attack on an initiative offering higher education to young Baha’is barred from university
The government of Austria, more than 80 prominent Indians, and top academics from the United Kingdom, are among the latest to voice their support for Iranian Baha’is’ right to education. Human rights groups have also joined the call for the release of imprisoned Baha’i educators.
Some 39 homes associated with the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) have recently been targeted. Fifteen BIHE staff and faculty members remain in prison, three weeks after initial raids. Three others were also arrested and subsequently released, while more Baha’is associated with the Institute were summoned for interrogation by the Ministry of Intelligence.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1133.html
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Cellmates say deceased journalist beaten prior to death
Sixty-four Iranian political prisoners from Ward 350 of Evin Prison have issued an announcement declaring that Reza Hoda Saber, the jailed Iranian journalist who died on Saturday following nearly 10 days on a hunger strike, was severely beaten by authorities on the eighth day of his strike.
The Kaleme website reports that the political prisoners say Hoda Saber was beaten in the prison infirmary by officials who, they guess, may have been security or intelligence officers.
“Hoda Saber was first transferred to the infirmary located next to Evin Prison on Friday at 4AM for complications of his hunger strike and, after about two hours, he was returned to the Ward 350 in severe pain,” the prisoners wrote. “His screams woke up his cellmates all around him.”
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/cellmates-say-deceased-journalist-beaten-prior-death
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Authorities deny journalist was on hunger strike before death
Islamic Republic authorities gave their first response today to the death of Reza Hoda Saber, denying that the jailed journalist and political activist had been on a hunger strike during his final days.
Their statement appears in a report published by Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). It quotes an unnamed source, “the head of the Evin Prison infirmary and Hoda Saber’s doctor,” saying the jailed journalist died from a “massive heart attack.” The IRNA report adds that Hoda Saber received all necessary medical care, as would be expected, in the last hours of his life.
According to IRNA, the head of infirmary has reported that Hoda Saber was brought to the medical facility at about 5AM on Friday. He was given an electrocardiogram which showed nothing out of the ordinary. According to IRNA, the unidentified prison official says Hoda Saber was then given medication, which he said alleviated his pain, and he was returned to his cell. An hour later, says the source, he was in pain once more and was taken to hospital after a second ECG.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/authorities-deny-journalist-was-hunger-strike-death
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Wunderbahren Flash mob in einen metrostation in Paris.
Paris Flashmob to mark two years since #IranElection – June 2011
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Iran’s Green Movement has actually achieved its goal
Where does Iran’s opposition stand two years later? The price of speaking out has been high. Even so, the movement has achieved its goal by gaining moral high ground, revealing the true face of the Islamic regime, and draining away much of its political legitimacy.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Global-Viewpoint/2011/0615/Iran-s-Green-Movement-has-actually-achieved-its-goal?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fcsm+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+%7C+All+Stories%29
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Gang rapes in Iran cause fear and religious controversy
Recent reports of gang rapes in Iran are worrying women and raising questions about social values, reports Mohammad Manzarpour of the BBC Persian Service.
In a religiously conservative town near the city of Isfahan, women at a private party were abducted last month and gang raped at knife point.
One week later, a female university student was attacked and raped by unknown assailants on the heavily-guarded campus in Masshad, a holy city.
In both cases, officials accused the victims of not wearing the hijab or headscarf in the proper fashion and general un-Islamic conduct.
These high-profile cases and the derogatory comments made by Iranian authorities have outraged women’s rights groups who have long complained of the increasingly high rate of sexual harassment.
As the stories dominate newspaper headlines, a political and public debate is raging about the reasons for the apparent rise in sexual crimes in the Islamic state and how to prevent and punish them.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13777308
Shocking Confidential Report Admits to Iranian TV’s Provocation of Post-Election Uprising
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has obtained an exclusive copy of a confidential report prepared by a sub-division of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), in which the IRIB’s performance following the 2009 presidential election is seriously criticized and the network is held responsible for widespread protests arising from the announcement of the election results. The confidential report is dated 9 August 2009.
The report goes on to say that the “premature announcement of election results, prior to preparing public opinion, was a mistake in the national media’s news coverage … considering voting hours ended at 22:00 on the night of 12 June, and the initial results (announcing Ahmadinejad’s victory) were reported (after counting 61% of the votes) at 2:47 a.m. the next day .”
The report finds that “announcing election results with such speed was almost unprecedented.” The report implicitly blames the IRIB’s performance during the vote count, as one of the factors contributing to widespread street protest.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1169.html
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Iranian Doctors Jailed For Antigovernment Activities Receive Global Health Prize
Two Iranian doctors imprisoned three years ago for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government have been awarded a global health prize for their efforts to treat patients with HIV.
Brothers Kamiar and Arash Alaei were arrested in June 2008 and accused of communicating with the United States in a bid to unseat the government of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_doctors/24237747.html
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Photos: Morality Police Deploy in Tehran – Men Banned From Wearing Necklaces!
Iranian men have been banned from wearing necklaces in the latest crackdown by the Islamic regime on “un-Islamic” clothing and haircuts.
Thousands of special forces have been deployed in Tehran’s streets, participating in the regime’s “moral security plan” in which loose-fitting headscarves, tight overcoats and shortened trousers that expose skin will not be tolerated for women, while men are warned against glamorous hairstyles and wearing a necklace.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1164.html
Ahmadinejad’s kitchen cabinet under pressure
A growing confrontation between Iran’s clerical rulers and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is spilling over to unusually direct criticism of the president’s inner circle of advisers.
Hard-line ayatollahs and representatives of the Revolutionary Guard Corps who were instrumental in bringing Ahmadinejad to power in 2005 now accuse his top aides of plotting to push Shiite clerics from politics. Although Ahmadinejad, who has become increasingly isolated, has relied closely on his tightknit group, the critics are demanding that the president cut all ties with his team.
In an apparently orchestrated effort, official state media have started reporting that some members of his inner circle are relying on fortune-tellers; others are charged with embezzling government money. Official publications have begun referring to Ahmadinejad’s four top aides as leaders of a “deviant’” political current that is trying to gain absolute power in the country.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/ahmadinejads-kitchen-cabinet-under-pressure/2011/06/15/AGfD5scH_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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Iran sets new hearing date for US hikers:
Iran has set a date of July 31 for the next hearing in the trial of two American hikers who have been held for around 22 months in the Islamic republic on espionage charges, their lawyer told AFP on Monday.
“I have received official notification to be ready in court on July 31 at 10 am (0530 GMT) to defend my clients,” Masoud Shafii told AFP, adding that the new hearing date coincides with the second anniversary of their arrest.
Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 28, were arrested along with Sarah Shourd, 32, on the unmarked border between Iran and Iraq on July 31, 2009.
Iran has accused the three hikers of “spying and illegally entering the country.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110620/wl_mideast_afp/iranushikerstrial_20110620174050
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Tehran: Several wounded in clashes between Khamenei, Ahmadinejad supporters
Sources in the Iranian opposition reported about bloody clashes Sunday in Tehran between supporters of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the followers of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. A number of people were seriously injured. The sources said the clashes took place in front of the metro station at the northern gate of the Great Chapel of Tehran after the two sides traded insults and accusations.
According to sources, the Basij and Ansar Hizbullah who support Khamenei also gathered in the Muneeriyyah square in the south of the capital amid tight security measures by police to prevent supporters of the President’s brother in law, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, to hold a religious event there.
http://www.albawaba.com/main-headlines/tehran-several-wounded-clashes-between-khamenei-ahmadinejad-supporters
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Head of Sociology Association of Iran Announces Drop in Prostitution Age in Iran
Just a week after Tehran’s police chief announced that there were only a 100 “street women” in Tehran, the head of Iran’s Sociology Association announced that the prostitution age in Iran had dropped by 8 to 10 years.
Dr. Gharai attributed this drop in age to such social issues as growth in the divorce rate, men’s desires for diversity, absence of resources for marriage, drug addiction, unemployment, etc, adding that the age of the bulk of prostitutes in Iran today ranges between 12 and 18 years. Reports of the latest research and statistics carried out by official media such as ILNA labor news agency confirm this trend.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1188.html
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Iranian Judiciary to Prosecute Gang Rape Suspects
While the Iranian judiciary says it intends to take severe action against the perpetrators of a gang rape in a village near Kashmar, the local Friday Prayers Imam, Ghassem Yaghoubi reports that the rape victim is currently under arrest.
Three days ago, Iranian media reported that a woman had been raped by 10 men in the area around Kashmar, and several informed sources said the crime had taken place more than six weeks ago.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1186.html
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Iranian journalist, Farid Salavati, released
Iranian jounalist Farid Salavati, who was arrested last week after reporting on a gang rape in Khomeini Shahr, was released today.
Iran Green Voice website reports that Salavati was arrested on June 12 and was being interrogated over the past week.
Two weeks ago in Khomeini Shahr, near the central Iranian city of Esfahan, a group of men crashed a party, locked all the men in a room, and then raped all the women.
Colonel Hossein Hosseinzadeh, the head of the Esfahan provincial police, told ISNA: “The police believe that some of the victims brought this crime upon themselves.” He added: “If the ladies at this party had adhered at least to the minimum hijab [Islamic dress code], they might not have suffered sexual assaults.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1192.html
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Ebadi accuses Iranian authorities of intent to kill political prisoners
Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian Nobel Peace laureate, says the death of Iranian political prisoners attests to the Islamic Republic government’s “organized and systematic determination” to destroy its political opponents.
Ebadi told the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran: “When a political prisoner refuses to bow down, to give an interview or acquiesce to false confessions, they use every method to break him/her, and one of these methods is physical abuse, which at times leads to their death.”
Ebadi added: “What is happening in Iran is systematic and it is not the mere negligence of a couple of lowly prison officials. If it had been just a few lowly officials, the Islamic Republic, at least after the first or second incidences, would attend to the matter and prosecute the culprits. But as we saw, this did not happen.”
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/ebadi-accuses-iranian-authorities-intent-kill-political-prisoners
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Saudi Suggests ‘Squeezing’ Iran Over Nuclear Ambitions
A leading member of Saudi Arabia’s royal family warned that Riyadh could seek to supplant Iran’s oil exports if the country doesn’t constrain its nuclear program, a move that could hobble Tehran’s finances.
In closed-door remarks earlier this month, Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal also strongly implied that Riyadh would be forced to follow suit if Tehran pushed ahead to develop nuclear weapons and said Saudi Arabia is preparing to employ all of its economic, diplomatic and security assets to confront Tehran’s regional ambitions.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304887904576400083811644642.html?mod=fox_australian
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UN rights investigator may use other methods to prepare report on Iran
The head of the National Union of Iranian Court Attorneys said if the United Nations’ Special Human Rights Rapporteur is not allowed to travel to Iran, he will gather his data by other means.
Iranian Labour Neaws agency (ILNA) reports that Bahman Keshavarz, the Head of National Union of Iranian Court Attorneys, said: “If Iran refuses to allow the appointed representative of the Human Rights Council to enter Iran, the representative will use off-field methods of investigation of inquiry and questioning the sources available to him – inside Iran as well as abroad – to prepare his report and present it to the council.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1199.html
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Freedom House: ‘Iranian regime must answer to its people over rights violations’
The Freedom House has applauded the appointment of a UN special rapporteur to assess the human rights crisis in Iran and has called on the newly-appointed official Dr Ahmed Shaheed “to investigate the condition of Iranian political prisoners as his first order of duty.”
A former foreign minister of the Maldives, Ahmed Shaheed, was named United Nations human rights investigator on Iran on Friday, the first in nearly a decade. However yesterday, an Iranian MP said Iran would deny Shaheed entry into the country.
“The Iranian regime must answer to its people and the international community for its gross human rights violations,” said David J. Kramer, executive director at Freedom House. “Blocking Dr. Shaheed’s entry further demonstrates the regime’s guilt on all accounts.”
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/jun/21/3190
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List of 18 Iranian political prisoners who perished between 2003 & 2011
The The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has compiled a list of Iranian prisoners of conscience who have perished while in custody over the years. It should be noted that on 18 June, twelve political prisoners began an “indefinite” hunger strike in Tehran’s Evin prison to protest the ongoing flagrant human rights abuses in the country, in particular the violations of political prisoner rights.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/jun/21/3189
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Iranian Female Photojournalist Missing
A female sports photojournalist who had campaigned for Iranian women to be allowed to attend men’s soccer games is missing amid reports she has been taken into custody in Tehran, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Maryam Majd, 24, was supposed to go to Duesseldorf on June 17 to prepare for the women’s soccer World Cup in Germany and to work on a photo project with Petra Landers, a former German soccer player.
But in a letter subsequently sent to the German Foreign Ministry and the Iranian Embassy in Berlin, Landers says Majd never arrived.
Landers said Majd called her on June 17 saying she was about to get on the flight, but the airline has since confirmed she never boarded.
Meanwhile, an Iran-based source close to Majd told Radio Farda on June 21 that “four men, most likely from the Intelligence Ministry, went to Majd’s father’s house on June 16 and arrested her after searching her room.”
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that her family said the men also took some of Majd’s personal belongings with them. Her current whereabouts are unknown.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iranian_female_photojournalist_missing/24243177.html
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Syrian FM Says No Iranian Intervention, Blasts Europe
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem told a news conference Wednesday that Syria is not receiving any help from Iran in its continuing crackdown on dissidents. He also blasted Europe, insisting that Syria plans to “forget Europe is on the map” as the European Union tightened sanctions against Damascus.
The veteran Syrian foreign minister repeated his government’s claim of an “outside plot” against Damascus. He insisted that European nations are spearheading the effort by ignoring a speech by President Bashar al-Assad this week that Western observers say failed to put forth meaningful reforms.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Syrian-FM-Says-No-Iranian-Intervention-Blasts-Europe-124358899.html
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Bahrain, Syria and Middle East unrest – live updates
Officials have held discussions with the British police today over allegations that Syrian activists in the UK and their families at home have been intimidated by the Syrian embassy London embassy, AP reports.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/jun/22/syria-libya-middle-east-unrest-live
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Lebanon bans screening of Iran film ‘Green Days’
Lebanese authorities have banned screening of the Iranian film “Green Days,” which deals with protests against the 2009 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, an organiser said on Tuesday.
“We received a call yesterday from General Security informing us they had withdrawn the licence allowing us to screen the film,” Colette Naufal, organiser of the Beirut International Film Festival, told AFP.
“When we asked them why, we were told: ‘This is not our decision, we are only carrying out orders.”
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/jun/22/3196?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+irangreenvoice%2FEn+%28Iran+Green+Voice+-+English%29
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World News
Report says Iranian Guards active in Syria
Iranian Revolutionary Guards are operating throughout Syria to assist in quelling anti-regime protests, a senior Israeli official said.
In an interview with Haaretz Wednesday, the official, whose name was not published and described as “a senior Israeli source,” said Iran is supplying Syria with military equipment as well as sophisticated communications equipment used to jam the Internet.
Syrian residents have reported men wearing military uniforms were heard speaking Farsi or poor Arabic among themselves.
“In the Syrian army there is a ban on beards, so when we see military people with beards we can assume they’re not part of the regular Syrian army,” the source told the newspaper. He said Hezbollah also is operating in Syria.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/06/22/Report-says-Iranian-Guards-active-in-Syria/UPI-87121308741643/
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Iran Reports Arrest of U.S. Spy Ring
Iran’s state-run Press TV announced on Wednesday that the government of the Islamic Republic had arrested 30 people in May on suspicion of spying for the United States.
The report quoted Haida Moslehi, the director of Iranian intelligence, as saying that that an additional 42 people had been identified as C.I.A. operatives in various countries.
Operatives working in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Malaysia, among others, were used to make contact with Iranians who could provide important information on everything from key infrastructure elements to the oil and gas industry to the nuclear program, it said.
The alleged espionage operation used various companies, including a job-finding center, for its work, said the English-language report. It suggested that there were double agents involved, and that at least one of those arrested had already been convicted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/world/middleeast/23tehran.html
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Democracy promised to Syrian people
Syria’s foreign minister has vowed to present ‘an unprecedented example of democracy’ in the country within three months, an extraordinary promise in a state facing an uprising against an authoritarian system in place for decades.
Speaking during a televised news conference, Foreign Minister Walid Moallem’s comments were the latest attempt by the regime to blunt three months of widespread street protests against President Bashar Assad’s autocratic rule.
‘We will offer an example of democracy,’ Moallem said, when asked about his vision for Syria in three months.
‘There will be social justice, equality before the law and accountability.’
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2011/06/23/Democracy_promised_to_Syrian_people_628887.html
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Iran’s fashion police target Western styles
It’s an Iranian rite of summer: Islamic morality squads pressure women to keep their headscarves snug and coverings in place, and after a few extra tugs for modesty’s sake the crackdown inevitably fades.
This year, Iran’s fashion offensive appears bigger and more ominous, and has expanded the watchlist to men’s hairstyles and jewellery considered too Western.
No official explanation has appeared for the sterner approach. But it fits with the steady push by Iran’s ruling theocracy to reel back the liberal fashion trends that began in the 1990s – such as body-hugging coverings for women and earrings and tattoos for men – and to sweep away non-Islamic influences in universities and cultural institutions.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10733923&ref=rss
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Iran Human Rights Activist Speaks After Release
One of Iran’s most outspoken human rights activists, released on Monday, has told Amnesty International that his freedom isn’t the end of the story, because many Iranians remain unjustly imprisoned. When freed, Baghi said he told the other prisoners “although I am going, half my existence is still imprisoned with you”.
Emadeddin Baghi was released after serving two concurrent one-year jail sentences for “propaganda against the state”. One related to his founding of the Association to Defend Prisoners’ Rights and the other to an interview broadcast by the BBC. He was also banned from any political activity for five years. A further five-year prison term was overturned by an Appeals Court, although he spent an extra 19 days in prison.
“We are of course delighted that Emadeddin Baghi has been released, but he should never have been in prison in the first place as he was a prisoner of conscience, held solely for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of expression and association in his human rights work and journalism,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Director.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1212.html
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Second anniversary of Neda Agha Soltan ‘s killing highlights near-total impunity for officials
Two years after the death of Neda Agha Soltan was captured on a mobile phone and came to symbolize the brutal repression meted out by security forces after the disputed presidential election of 2009, Amnesty International is renewing its call on the Iranian authorities to end impunity for officials responsible for unlawful killings, torture and other human rights violations.
Footage of Neda Agha Soltan’s dying moments, after being shot in the chest on 20 June 2009 spread around the world via the internet. No one has ever been brought to justice for her death, and instead of investigating it impartially, the Iranian authorities – following an entrenched pattern of cover-up of abuses – resorted to threats, counter-accusations, obfuscation and further violations to try to evade responsibility. A member of the Basij militia witnessed by onlookers as saying, “I did not mean to kill her”, whose ID card was posted on the internet, has never been put on trial, but appeared in a documentary shown a year ago on state television, denying responsibility. Arash Hejazi, the doctor who was present at the scene, was forced to seek asylum abroad, fearing for his safety. Neda Agha Soltan’s family and friends were made to appear on state televison denying the state was responsible, although her father Ali Agha Soltan told BBC Persian in December 2009 that “her killer can only be from the government”.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1218.html
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Iran’s Police Chief Criticizes Media Coverage Of Rape Cases
Iran’s chief of police has criticized the domestic media’s “extensive coverage” of a recent spate of alleged rapes in the country, saying it would cause “a sense of insecurity in society,” RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Esmaeel Ahmadi Moghadam said on June 21 that news about a crime like rape — which is fairly uncommon in Iran — should not be published in a way that would “jeopardize the victim’s honor.”
In the past month, state media have reported extensively on three alleged cases of gang rape in the provinces.
http://www.rferl.org/content/irans_police_chief_criticizes_media_coverage_of_rape_cases/24244774.html
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Ally Of Iranian President Arrested
Iranian news agencies say a former member of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s entourage has been arrested after being recently forced out of a diplomatic post by conservative lawmakers.
The Fars news agency reported, without naming its source or elaborating, that Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh “was arrested several hours ago.”
Esmail Kosari, a member of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told the Mehr news agency that Malekzadeh “was arrested today because of financial charges and numerous [pending] cases in the judiciary.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/iranian_presidents_ally_arrested/24244666.html
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Ahmadinejad: Iran Not Afraid to Build Nuclear Weapons
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday that the Islamic Republic is not afraid of manufacturing nuclear weapons, but does not intend to do so.
“If we do want to make a bomb, we are not afraid of anybody,” Iran’s state television quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.
Ahmadinejad’s statements come on the same day that five Russian scientists involved in designing Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant were killed in a Russian plane crash.
The Tupolev-134 plane broke up and caught fire during an emergency landing outside the northern city of Petrozavodsk, Moscow-based International News Agency RIA Novosti reported.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/145154
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An open letter from The Mourning Mothers of Iran to the United Nations special Rapporteur regarding the investigation of the human rights in Iran
Dear Mr. Ahmad Shaheed;
We feel the warmth of a new hope in our hearts now and that is because after years of constant demands and trying hard by the victims of The Islamic Republic of Iran and their families, the United Nations, the highest international body, has finally appointed you as the special rapporteur to investigate the widespread and systematic human rights abuse by this regime. We feel fortunate that our cry that human right is an international affair and its investigation needs an international body has been heard.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1224.html
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Six more Iranian prisoners join hunger strike
Six more Iranian political prisoners have joined 12 prisoners who are on a hunger strike to protest the recent deaths of two political prisoners.
Kaleme reports that six prisoners at Rejai Shahr Prison in Karaj have announced they are lending their support to the dozen prisoners on strike at Evin Prison.
The new strikers include journalists Keyvan Samimi, Issa Saharkhiz and Massoud Bastani, student activist Ali Akbar Ajami, human rights activist Jaffar Eghdami and political activist Heshmatollah Tabarzadi. Their extreme protest was triggered by the deaths of Haleh Sahabi, who died when her father’s funeral was raided by security forces, and Reza Hoda Saber, who died 10 days into a hunger strike that was in protest of Sahabi’s death.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/six-more-iranian-prisoners-join-hunger-strike
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Journalist Zahra Yazdani arrested
Security agents entered the home of Zahra Yazdani in the early hours of Tuesday June 21, 2011 and arrested her. After her home was searched and inspected the agents confiscated her personal possessions.
According to Human Rights House of Iran no reason has been given for Zahra’s arrest and there has been no contact from Zahra with her family since she was taken away.
This journalist is a student of Mohammad Ali Taheri, who is an esteemed Iranian scholar and founder of two medical approaches named “Faradarmani” and “Psymentology” that use alternative methods and are complementary. Last month security agents arrested Dr. Taheri for the third time and he is now on hunger strike behind bars.
http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=11302
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EU targets Iran for supporting Syrian protest crackdown
Syria denies allegations as EU imposes sanctions against Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders
EU sanctions imposed upon close relatives and business associates of President Bashar al-Assad over the repression in Syria have also targeted commanders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Syria has denied that Iran has been helping to crush unrest, despite claims by western governments and Syrian opposition groups, so the measures against regime figures in Tehran and Damascus, announced in Brussels on Friday, sent a strong message to both countries.
Britain denounced Iran’s support for its Arab ally as “absolutely unacceptable” and “blatant hypocrisy”.
General Muhammad Ali Jafari, the Revolutionary Guard commander, and General Qasem Soleimani, who leads its elite al-Quds force, both now face EU asset freezes and travel bans. They are already subject to US sanctions.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/24/eu-targets-iran-syria-crackdown
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Activists: Iran’s Government Encourages Rape
Prison guards in Iran are giving condoms to criminals and encouraging them to systematically rape young opposition activists locked up with them, according to accounts from inside the country’s jail system.
A series of dramatic letters written by prisoners and families of imprisoned activists allege that authorities are intentionally facilitating mass rape and using it as a form of punishment.
Mehdi Mahmoudian, an outspoken member of Iran’s Participation Front, a reformist political party, is among those prisoners who have succeeded in smuggling out letters revealing the extent of rape inside some of the most notorious prisons.
http://www.frumforum.com/iran-recruits-thugs-to-rape-activists?utm_source=FrumForum+Twitter&utm_medium=twitter
Iran giving out condoms for criminals to rape us, say jailed activists
Smuggled letters allege authorities are using mass rape as a weapon inside Iran’s most notorious prisons
Prison guards in Iran are giving condoms to criminals and encouraging them to systematically rape young opposition activists locked up with them, according to accounts from inside the country’s jail system.
A series of dramatic letters written by prisoners and families of imprisoned activists allege that authorities are intentionally facilitating mass rape and using it as a form of punishment.
Mehdi Mahmoudian, an outspoken member of Iran’s Participation Front, a reformist political party, is among those prisoners who have succeeded in smuggling out letters revealing the extent of rape inside some of the most notorious prisons.
Mahmoudian was arrested in the aftermath of Iran’s 2009 disputed presidential election for speaking to the press about the regime’s suppression of the movement and is currently in Rajaeeshahr prison in Karaj, a city 12 miles (20km) to the west of the capital, Tehran.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/24/jailed-iran-opposition-activists-rape
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View from the streets of Syria: Assad’s days
are numbered
Day by day, the Assad regime is drawing closer to collapse as the revolution sweeps the country. Out of that realization, the regime is intensifying its crackdown on the demonstrations. Unfortunately, only the Syrian regime seems to realize how fragile its standing is. If others did as well they would take the chance by showing more support for the revolution.
Since the start of protests, the Assad regime had been utilizing security personnel detached from the majority Syrian populations for suppression, to avoid fraternal and brotherly sentiments. But the numbers of security elements dispatched to suppress demonstrators could no longer keep up with the increasing multitudes of demonstrators, who are also spread across and between vast and distant geographical locations.
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2011/me_syria0776_06_24.asp
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Iran’s Police Chief Criticizes Media Coverage Of Rape Cases
Iran’s chief of police has criticized the domestic media’s “extensive coverage” of a recent spate of alleged rapes in the country, saying it would cause “a sense of insecurity in society,” RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Esmaeel Ahmadi Moghadam said on June 21 that news about a crime like rape — which is fairly uncommon in Iran — should not be published in a way that would “jeopardize the victim’s honor.”
In the past month, state media have reported extensively on three alleged cases of gang rape in the provinces.
In late April, more than 10 men are charged with attacking a woman who was returning from work in a village near the eastern city of Kashmar and raping her.
In May, 14 men reportedly raided a party in Khomeini Shahr, near the central city of Isfahan, locked all the men in a room, and raped the women attending the party.
The latest cases of rape, announced by the judicial authorities of the northern Golestan Province, were published by Mehr News Agency on June 20.
According to the report, a female physician was sexually assaulted by four men in a village in Golestan and a girl was abducted and killed by two men after being raped in the same province. The dates of the crimes were not given.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1233.html
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Iran Accuses West Of Supporting Terrorism
Hear hear.
Iran has used a conference on stopping terrorism to accuse the West of being the main sponsor of political violence against civilians.
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad told delegates who included the leaders of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan that Washington, Israel and Europe support “individuals and groups responsible for [terrorist] incidents.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_acccuses_west_of_supporting_terrorism/24246631.html
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Arab Spring, Persian Winter
With long-standing U.S. allies toppled or under pressure from unprecedented dissent across the Arab world, Michael Doran, in “The Heirs of Nasser” (May/June 2011), warns that Iran is poised to walk away from the Arab Spring a winner. In his view, the chaotic Arab political scene will allow Iran and its radical allies — Hamas, Hezbollah, and Syria — to stoke public frustration over unmet expectations or engage in subversive provocations, thereby embroiling new regimes in the region’s old conflicts. In previous periods of regional upheaval, revolutionaries such as Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser employed this strategy at the expense of U.S. and Western interests. Nasser played the Israel card to goad his Western-backed rivals into war, while exhorting their publics to rebel. Why, Doran argues, should one expect any less from Iran and its allies today?
Certainly, the regional shakeup will give Iran and its allies much to prey on. The Arab world’s secular, liberal youth movements, often hobbled by a lack of organization and leadership, will compete with long-established parties with starkly different views of the future, be they remnants of the old regimes or Islamist forces. The region’s new governments will confront economic challenges that will limit their ability to meet the expectations of a youthful and increasingly impatient public. Meanwhile, the continued Israeli-Palestinian stalemate offers further ammunition for rejectionist forces to reinvigorate the region’s tired scapegoats, redirecting the conversation away from talk about the failure of domestic governance. The United States’ inconsistent policies toward the Arab revolts (for example, the varying U.S. responses to Bahrain and Libya) offer more fodder for Iran’s resistance narrative.
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67942/dalia-dassa-kaye-and-frederic-wehrey-michael-scott-doran/arab-spring-persian-winter
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Iran unveils underground smart missile silos as it kicks off large scale war games
Iran on Monday unveiled underground silos that can carry missiles capable of hitting Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf as it kicked off 10 days of war games, the country’s latest show of military force amid a standoff with the West over its disputed nuclear program.
State TV broadcast footage of deep underground silos, claiming that medium- and long-range missiles stored in them are ready to launch in case of an attack on Iran. The silos are widely viewed as a strategic asset for Iran in the event of a U.S. or Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/iran-unveils-underground-smart-missile-silos-as-it-kicks-off-large-scale-war-games/2011/06/27/AGc20gnH_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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Iranian Filmmaker Reportedly Arrested In Tehran
The Iranian reformist website Kaleme.com says Iranian filmmaker and women’s right activist Mahnaz Mohammadi has been arrested in Tehran.
She was taken into custody at her house by security agents on Sunday, according to the website, which is linked to opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi.
http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=2986&catid=62
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Watchdog Group Urges UN to Distance Itself From Iran’s ‘Anti-Terror’ Summit
The Geneva-based UN Watch has reportedly issued a call for UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon to distance the international organization from an “anti-terrorism” conference in Iran that claims to have the backing of both Ban and the United Nations.
Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, sent letters to Ban and US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice regarding the conference — “International Conference on Global Fight Against Terrorism,” which took place this past weekend, the Jerusalem Post reports.
Characterizing the conference as the “height of cynicism,” Neuer cited Iran’s prominent role in sponsoring and training terrorists from Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as aiding the Syrian regime in its efforts to suppress current demonstrations against it.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/06/27/watchdog-group-urges-un-to-distance-itself-from-irans-anti-terror-summit/
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It Is Too Late for Assad
One month after the uprisings began in Syria, I wrote that President Bashar al-Assad had a choice: “Continue to convey an image of an inept dictator … or display bold leadership and vision in order to use the opportunity of the unrest to institute basic reforms…” In his May 19th remarks on the Middle East, President Obama posited a similar choice for the Syria regime, stating: “President Assad now has a choice: He can lead [a transition to democracy], or get out of the way.” In a speech to his nation last Monday, President Assad once again missed the opportunity to face reality and address the real grievances of his people. Although he acknowledged that there are some peaceful protesters with legitimate concerns, he once again blamed much of the unrest and violence on “vandals and outlaws and radical blasphemous intellectuals.”
Most observers dismissed Assad’s speech as being too broad with no specifics about reforms, giving the protesters no hope for substantive change for the better in the immediate future. Since his speech, instead of showing restraints and beginning an honest national dialogue, Assad continues to use brutal force to subdue the protesters losing what’s left of his credibility. It has become clear that Assad has made his choice. With over 1,400 Syrians killed, more than 10,000 fleeing the country, and as many languishing in jail, it is too late for Assad to redeem himself. And yet, the international community remains feeble, doing nothing about it. Without meaningful action, Assad is likely to seek dangerous and desperate measures to maintain power, and Syria could become engulfed in the kind of prolonged, internecine sectarian violence that serves as a gaping pattern of instability affecting the entire region.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alon-benmeir/it-is-too-late-for-assad_b_885339.html
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From ‘Arab spring’ to a grim Arab summer
What a few months ago seemed an irresistible wave of rising expectations forcing a renaissance in Tunisia, Egypt and other “moderate” Muslim societies, now has been stymied.
But the uprisings have had economic and political consequences. Other consequences, still unforeseen, are bound to come along, but for the moment we can note these:
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2011/s0786_06_27.asp
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“I Saw Prison Abuse,” Says Iranian Political Prisoner Mohammad Nourizad
In an interview with the International Campaign with Human Rights in Iran, Mohammad Nourizad, a filmmaker, journalist and prisoner of conscience currently on furlough, provided details about his own case as well as the abuse of other prisoners. “I saw a young man who had been beaten, his lips were torn, and he had been slapped in the face numerous times. I believe what Hamzeh Karami and Abdollah Momeni said [about prison abuse] was accurate. They were badly tortured.” In separate letters from prison, political prisoners Hamzeh Karami and Abdollah Momeni reported being abused and tortured.
“I was transferred to Evin Prison on 20 December 2009. It appeared that everything had been planned before. During a superficial case and setting a $500,000 bail during a tight time frame, it was obvious that Evin awaited me…Judge Pirabbasi sentenced me to 3.5 years in prison; two years for insulting the Supreme Leader; one year for propagating against the regime; three months for insulting the president; three months for insulting the Head of the Judiciary, and 50 lashes for insulting the Mashad Friday Imam,” said Nourizad, adding that he has already served exactly 1.5 years of his prison term. “They will flog me in the end to remember the taste.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1258.html
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Reason for Ahmadinejad’s Absence at Supreme Leader’s Meeting
The crisis between Ahmadinejad supporters and the regime leadership in Tehran is expanding by the day. The arrest of Ahmadinejad’s four close allies and his absence at a meeting that ayatollah Khamenei had with visiting Afghan President Karzai last week may be more signs of the return of the domestic crises and the concluding phase of the confrontation
It is in this light that the recent comments of Mashhad’s Friday prayer leader, Ahmad Elm-alHoda should be viewed. In his public sermon, alHoda said that dealing with the “deviant movement” was guided by the leader of the Islamic republic.
In his talk, alHoda said that while the leader of the Islamic republic had in the past supported the deviant movement, he stressed, “The deviation caused the leader to directly intervene and challenge the management: his virtuous character calls him to warn whenever a deviation is observed.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jun/1259.html
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Iran, Iraq to shut down Camp Ashraf
Iran and Iraq have formed a joint committee with the Red Cross to shut down Camp Ashraf in Iraq which houses thousands of outlawed Iranian opponents, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said on Saturday.
“The camp will be shut down by the end of this year,” Talabani said on the sidelines of a counter-terrorism summit in Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported.
“For this, a tripartite committee has been set up by Iraq, Iran and the International Red Cross to make decisions and follow up on necessary measures to shut down the camp of this terrorist group,” IRNA quoted him as saying.
The People’s Mujahedeen established Camp Ashraf in the 1980s — when now-executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime was at war with Iran — as a base from which to launch military action against the Islamic republic.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110625/wl_mideast_afp/iraniraqpoliticsopposition_20110625135838
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EU blacklists Iranian commanders for role in Syria
The European Union has brought sanctions against three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) for assisting in Syria’s crackdown on demonstrations.
Reuters reports that the EU has released the details of the sanctions it proposes to impose on Syria.
IRGC Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari, deputy of IRGC intelligence Hossein Taeb and the Commander of Qods Forces of the IRGC, Ghassem Soleymani have been put on the EU blacklist. They have been accused of “providing military equipment and assisting in the crackdown on popular protests by the Syrian government.”
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/eu-blacklists-iranian-commanders-role-syria
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‘Iranian prisons holding 8 times maximum capacity,’ says official
Posted by A friend of me
Prisons in Iran are currently overcrowded as much as eight times their maximum capacity, according to a report by the reformist Shargh daily.
Describing the poor prison conditions in the country, the newspaper said that in some cases, some 800 inmates were being held a single prison whose maximum capacity was 100 detainees.
“The country’s prisons can hold up to 55,000 inmates, but there are currently more than 220,000 prisoners,” says Iran’s head of Prisons Organisation. Less than three months ago, Gholamhossein Esmaili announced that since he took over as the country’s prison chief a year and a half ago, the number of prisoners in the country had risen by 55,000.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/jun/28/3204
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How the demise of a trusted adviser could bring down Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Posted by a friend of me
Iran’s President has survived mass uprisings, but a corruption row engulfing his inner circle may soon be his undoing. Robert Fisk reports from Tehran
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s irascible, unpredictable but devout president, may be forced to resign in the coming weeks as a political crisis far greater than the massive street violence which followed his re-election in 2009 threatens to overwhelm him and his court favourites in the government.
The overweening influence of his close friend and confidant Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaee, the president’s chief of staff – who is blamed for the firing of two intelligence ministers and for infuriating even the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei – is expected to bring down Ahmadinejad in one of the most spectacular putsches in the history of the Islamic Republic.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/how-the-demise-of-a-trusted-adviser-could-bring-down-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-2303671.html
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US Sanctions Syrian, Iranian Police for Syria Crackdown
The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions against a Syrian police unit and key Iranian security officials in connection with Syria’s lethal crackdown on protestors. U.S. officials accuse Iran of providing material support for Syrian repression.
The sanctions announced by the Treasury Department add to a growing list of Syrian and Iranian individuals and entities targeted by the United States, including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and members of his inner circle.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/US-Sanctions-Syrian-Iranian-Police-for-Syria-Crackdown-124735029.html
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Britain Accuses Iran of Secretly Testing Nuclear-Capable Missiles
British Foreign Secretary William Hague says Iran has conducted secret tests of ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads in violation of a U.N. resolution.
In comments to the British parliament on Wednesday, Hague said secret Iranian tests of nuclear-capable missiles contravene U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929. He also accused Iran of engaging in covert experiments with rocket launchers.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast denied the British allegations, telling the Reuters news agency that none of the missiles tested by Iran has a nuclear capability.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Britain-Accuses-Iran-of-Secretly-Testing-Nuclear-Capable-Missiles-124709699.html
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Iranian President Warns Against Arrest of Allies
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned authorities against arresting members of his government on charges of corruption.
Ahmadinejad said Wednesday the arrests are politically motivated and an attempt to put pressure on his government.
His comments come nearly a week after a former deputy foreign minister and close ally, Mohammed Sharif Malekzadeh, was arrested on financial corruption charges. At least two other officials were also arrested last week.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Iranian-President-Warns-Against-Arrest-of-Allies–124707609.html
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New Report on Rape in Iranian Prisons
The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) published the following report on June 10, 2011. The report documents the cases of five former prisoners – two women and three men. They span the almost 30 years of the Islamic Republic’s existence. Four witnesses were raped; one was threatened with rape and saw rape victims:
Allegations of rape and sexual violence of political prisoners began to emerge after the Islamic Republic of Iran was established in 1979 and have continued, to varying degrees, to the present. However, not surprisingly, there is no reliable estimate of the number of prisoners raped in the Islamic Republic’s prisons. The reasons are simple: few rape victims are willing to speak about their experiences due to (1) government pressure and acquiescence, and (2) social stigma. Iranian authorities have and continue to acquiesce to rapes of prisoners by guards and interrogators who use rape to crush detainees’ spirit, inflict humiliation, discourage their dissent, force them to confess to crimes, and ultimately to intimidate them and others – all in violation of international human rights and Iranian law.
http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2011/jun/29/new-report-rape-iranian-prisons
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Iranian Lawyer Tried For Membership In Ebadi Rights Group
Another colleague of Shirin Ebadi has gone on trial for being a member of a rights group set up by the Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Lawyer Narges Mohammadi is the deputy head of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC), which is headed by Ebadi.
In an interview with Radio Farda on June 28, Mohammadi said three charges were raised against her at a court hearing — her second — on June 27. They are: “being a member of the Defenders of Human Rights Center;” “spreading propaganda against the regime;” and “assembly and collusion with intent to commit crimes against national security.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/iranian_lawyer_tried_for_membership_in_ebadi_rights_group/24250128.html
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Saudi Prince Warns: Riyadh Will Build Nuclear If Iran Gets Them
A senior Saudi Arabian diplomat and member of the ruling royal family has raised the spectre of nuclear conflict in the Middle East if Iran comes close to developing a nuclear weapon.
Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi intelligence chief and ambassador to Washington, warned senior NATO military officials that the existence of such a device “would compel Saudi Arabia … to pursue policies which could lead to untold and possibly dramatic consequences”.
He did not state explicitly what these policies would be, but a senior official in Riyadh who is close to the prince said yesterday his message was clear.
“We cannot live in a situation where Iran has nuclear weapons and we don’t. It’s as simple as that,” the official said. “If Iran develops a nuclear weapon, that will be unacceptable to us and we will have to follow suit.”
Officials in Riyadh said that Saudi Arabia would reluctantly push ahead with its own civilian nuclear program. Peaceful use of nuclear power, said Turki, was the right of all nations.
Turki was speaking earlier this month at an unpublicized meeting at RAF Molesworth, the airbase in Cambridgeshire used by NATO as a center for gathering and collating intelligence on the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Saudi-Prince-Warns-Riyadh-Will-Build-Nuclear-If-Iran-Gets-Them-30834.html
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Iran begins shelling anew inside Iraq
Iranian shelling in the Hajj Omran border district in Erbil, Iraq, caused no casualties, officials said.
“Iranian shelling resumed on Tuesday night and lasted for hours without leading to any casualties as raids targeted uninhabitable regions,” Maghdid Arif Ahmad, head of Hajj Omran District, told al-Sumaria news.
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/06/29/Iran-begins-shelling-anew-inside-Iraq/UPI-46561309374777/#ixzz1Qhim9PWf
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Syria troops storm villages, kill civilians: activist
Syrian troops killed seven civilians when they stormed northwestern villages Wednesday to quash anti-government dissent, activists said, as Washington piled new pressure on the regime and its Iranian ally over the deadly crackdown.
The latest military action came as hundreds of lawyers staged a sit-in in the second city of Aleppo calling for freedom and the release of prisoners and regime loyalists held a counter-protest, activists said.
The Aleppo sit-in came as calls mounted on the Internet for a massive rally to take place Thursday in the the northern city — the country’s economic centre.
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/syria-troops-storm-villages-killing-seven-175724886.html
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Three Baha’i Citizens Arrested in Mashhad and Isfahan
Two Baha’i citizens have been arrested in Isfahan and one Baha’i citizen has been detained in Mashhad.
Following the recent arrests of Baha’i citizens, 2 people have been detained in Isfahan and one has been detained in Mashhad.
According to the Human Rights House of Iran, Ayeh Anvari and Farhood Eshtiyagh have been arrested in Isfahan and Sanaz Tafazzoli(Rouhi) has been detained in Mashhad.
http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=11414
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Iranian Deputy Confirms Attack On Women’s Swimming Pool
An Iranian parliament deputy has confirmed that a raid at a women’s public swimming pool in Tehran that police had earlier denied did in fact happen.
About a week ago, several men reportedly raided the pool where they harassed and filmed the women there.
Conservative lawmaker Fatemeh Alia, a supporter of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, said on June 28 that police have arrested “a number of the thugs” responsible, Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_attack_women_swimming_pool/24251387.html
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Why Hezbollah Had a Really Bad Week
Back in 2006, the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah was riding high. Having fought the Israeli army to a standstill, the organization’s leader Hassan Nasrallah declared “divine victory.” The war was a public relations coup for the militia, which emerged from the campaign as the most favorable personification of Shiism in the largely Sunni Muslim world. So impressive was the alleged victory that the campaign sparked a widely reported trend of conversion to Shiite Islam in the region. But if 2006 was a divine victory, this week’s Special Tribunal on Lebanon (STL) indictments of four Hezbollah officials and affiliates in connection to the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri, may prove a divine defeat.
http://www.tnr.com/article/world/91167/lebanon-tribunal-hariri-hezbollah
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Police dismantle satellite dishes in Iran
Video:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13980138
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Iraq Begins Crackdown on Shiite Militias
Against a backdrop of rising violence against American soldiers, Iraqi security forces have unleashed a sweeping crackdown on Iranian-backed Shiite militants responsible for most of the lethal attacks, according to American and Iraqi officials.
The operation has been welcomed by the United States military, which announced the deaths of three Americans in southern Iraq on Thursday, bringing the total of combat-related deaths in June to 14 — the bloodiest month in three years.
Throughout the spring, as the attacks on soldiers increased, American commanders grew concerned that the Shiite government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki would be unwilling to act against the militias. Many of the militant groups have ties to the radical cleric Moktada al-Sadr, whose party is a critical pillar of Mr. Maliki’s governing coalition.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/world/middleeast/02iraq.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
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Lebanon braces for Hezbollah backlash over Hariri
Lebanon braced on Friday for a possible backlash after a UN-backed tribunal issued an indictment in the 2005 murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri in which four Hezbollah members are named.
Daniel Bellemare, prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), hailed as a “historic milestone” the indictment, which implicates Hezbollah operatives in the assassination.
“The confirmation of the indictment is only a second step in the judicial process,” read a statement from Bellemare’s office on Friday.
“The office of the prosecutorâs investigations are still ongoing and work continues to be ready for trial.”
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/lebanon-braces-hezbollah-backlash-over-hariri-case-084923042.html
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Concurrent With Admission of Group Executions, 26 More Hanged Secretly in Mashad, Iran
Local sources in Mashad told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that 26 more inmates were hanged at Vakilabad Prison on 15 June 2011. At the same time, the Prosecutor of Mashad Mahmoud Zoghi admitted to secret group executions and without mentioning the number of executions over the past two and half years, referred to “the high number of executions.”
Zoghi acknowledged group executions while reporting the large number of drug trafficking cases in Vakilabad prison.
“With such a high volume of drug trafficking cases, the execution statistics are proportionate and foreign media unjustifiably exaggerate in this subject,” Zoghisaid.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1003.html
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Supreme Leader calls Syrian protests a Western conspiracy
Iran’s Supreme Leader has condemned the unrest in Syria as a deviation fomented by the U.S. and Israel against the Beshar Assad government, which stands on the front lines of resistance against Zionism.
A report on his personal website describes a Thursday meeting between Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, and various government and public representatives, where he accused the U.S. and Israel of interfering in Syria’s internal affairs.
“The essence of the Islamic Awakening in the region is anti-Zionist and anti-U.S. But in the case of Syria, U.S. and Israeli hands are evidently at work,” Ayatollah Khamenei said. “The logic and the standard of the Iranian people is that wherever slogans promote U.S. and Israeli interests, there must be a deviant movement.”
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/supreme-leader-calls-syrian-protests-western-conspiracy
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Iraq Begins Crackdown on Shiite Militias
Against a backdrop of rising violence against American soldiers, Iraqi security forces have unleashed a sweeping crackdown on Iranian-backed Shiite militants responsible for most of the lethal attacks, according to American and Iraqi officials.
The operation has been welcomed by the United States military, which announced the deaths of three Americans in southern Iraq on Thursday, bringing the total of combat-related deaths in June to 14 — the bloodiest month in three years.
Throughout the spring, as the attacks on soldiers increased, American commanders grew concerned that the Shiite government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki would be unwilling to act against the militias. Many of the militant groups have ties to the radical cleric Moktada al-Sadr, whose party is a critical pillar of Mr. Maliki’s governing coalition.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/world/middleeast/02iraq.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
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Lebanon braces for Hezbollah backlash over Hariri
Lebanon braced on Friday for a possible backlash after a UN-backed tribunal issued an indictment in the 2005 murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri in which four Hezbollah members are named.
Daniel Bellemare, prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), hailed as a “historic milestone” the indictment, which implicates Hezbollah operatives in the assassination.
“The confirmation of the indictment is only a second step in the judicial process,” read a statement from Bellemare’s office on Friday.
“The office of the prosecutorâs investigations are still ongoing and work continues to be ready for trial.”
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/lebanon-braces-hezbollah-backlash-over-hariri-case-084923042.html
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Concurrent With Admission of Group Executions, 26 More Hanged Secretly in Mashad, Iran
Local sources in Mashad told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that 26 more inmates were hanged at Vakilabad Prison on 15 June 2011. At the same time, the Prosecutor of Mashad Mahmoud Zoghi admitted to secret group executions and without mentioning the number of executions over the past two and half years, referred to “the high number of executions.”
Zoghi acknowledged group executions while reporting the large number of drug trafficking cases in Vakilabad prison.
“With such a high volume of drug trafficking cases, the execution statistics are proportionate and foreign media unjustifiably exaggerate in this subject,” Zoghisaid.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1003.html
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Supreme Leader calls Syrian protests a Western conspiracy
Iran’s Supreme Leader has condemned the unrest in Syria as a deviation fomented by the U.S. and Israel against the Beshar Assad government, which stands on the front lines of resistance against Zionism.
A report on his personal website describes a Thursday meeting between Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, and various government and public representatives, where he accused the U.S. and Israel of interfering in Syria’s internal affairs.
“The essence of the Islamic Awakening in the region is anti-Zionist and anti-U.S. But in the case of Syria, U.S. and Israeli hands are evidently at work,” Ayatollah Khamenei said. “The logic and the standard of the Iranian people is that wherever slogans promote U.S. and Israeli interests, there must be a deviant movement.”
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/supreme-leader-calls-syrian-protests-western-conspiracy
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Iran Denies Smuggling Weapons To Iraq, Afghanistan
Iran has dismissed U.S. claims that Tehran has smuggled weapons to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The semi-official Fars news agency quotes Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi as saying “the ridiculous and repeated lies of the Americans are aimed at justifying their own errors.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_denies_smuggling_weapons_to_iraq_afghanistan/24253554.html
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Iran smuggles arms to hasten US departure
The Iranian military smuggled deadly munitions to its allies in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent months in a bid to accelerate the US withdrawals from these countries, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
Citing unnamed US officials, the newspaper said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps supplied allies with rocket-assisted exploding projectiles that have already killed US troops.
The officials said Iranians had also given long-range rockets to the Taliban in Afghanistan, increasing their ability to hit coalition positions from a safer distance, the report said.
“I think we are likely to see these Iranian-backed groups continue to maintain high attack levels,” Major General James Buchanan, the top US military spokesman in Iraq, told The Wall Street Journal.
“But they are not going to deter us from doing everything we can to help the Iraqi security forces.”
Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/iran-smuggles-arms-to-hasten-us-departure-20110702-1gw4m.html#ixzz1QzE4l9GJ
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Tehran Prosecutor urged to investigate death of political prisoners
A group of Iranian human rights activists and court attorneys has called on the Tehran Prosecutor to investigate the “moving and painful” deaths of Haleh Sahabi and Reza Hoda Saber.
The Jaras opposition website reports that their letter to the prosecutor describes the deaths as “apparent crimes” and says it is the prosecutor’s duty to pursue such cases.
Reza Hoda Saber, a Nationalist-Religious activist, died on June 12, 10 days into a hunger strike at Evin Prison. The Iranian opposition contends that his death was precipitated by beatings on the eighth day of his strike and later by the delay in transferring him to hospital.
Haleh Sahabi suffered a heart attack on June 1 when Iranian government forces overran her father’s funeral. She had been on a temporary furlough from Evin Prison to care for her ailing father.
The letter indicates that several witnesses are ready to testify in court, so the Tehran prosecutor should “immediately” begin his investigation.
In an earlier letter, 64 prisoners testified that Saber was beaten at the prison infirmary during his hunger strike.
Habibollah Peymon and several other people present at the funeral of Ezzatollah Sahabi have also testified that Haleh Sahabi was assaulted by security forces.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1009.html
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Open letter to the newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran
Dear Dr. Shaheed,
We the undersigned, members of Iranian academics, journalists, writers, lawyers, artists and human rights activists, welcome your appointment as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran. The systematic violations of human rights by the Islamic Republic of Iran and atrocities committed against the members of the opposition have reached an unprecedented level. The arbitrary arrests of women activists, lawyers, journalists, students, labour leaders, and human rights advocates are on the rise. The continuous hunger strikes, attempted suicides and mysterious death of prisoners in custody, and executions are indeed alarming.
The Islamic Republic’s refusal to accept your appointment and to allow your travel to Iran is meant to bloc the international scrutiny of these atrocities. We hope that under increased international pressure, the Iranian authorities are compelled to revise their decision and you, like previous UN Envoys, be able to visit Iran and Iranian prisoners and their families, as well as the families of those killed, disappeared and executed. Nonetheless, it is important to note that the large number of former political prisoners and their family members living in exile would welcome the opportunity to share with you their information and experiences of torture, rape, imprisonments and executions.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1017.html
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Five Iraqi police officers shot dead as Barzani warns Iran
Armed men on Sunday killed five Iraqi police officers in a drive-by shooting in the western part of the country. The gunmen approached a checkpoint in the town of Rutbah in Anbar province on Sunday and opened fire on the officers, who were stationed there.
http://www.albawaba.com/main-headlines/five-iraqi-police-officers-shot-dead-barzani-warns-iran-381348
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Families urge Iranian parliament to probe prison conditions
Iranian parliament has been urged to probe into the situation of Iranian prisons and the situation of political prisoners in a letter from prisoners’ families addressed to the parliament’s National Security Commission.
“Indifference to the lives of citizens persists, especially to the most oppressed ones who are currently in chain,” Kaleme opposition website quotes the letter; “and the parliament, as the pulse of the society, is locked in a hard shell of numbness and apathy which is in turn triggering deep rage amongst voters.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1020.html
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Ahmadinejad Promises Land For Every Iranian families To Build Villas
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has announced a new plan which envisages the allocation of a 1000-meter land to every Iranian family to construct a villa and grow gardens.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1023.html
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Persian Letters: ‘Voting For Ahmadinejad Was A Political Mistake’
Conservative blogger and journalist Mohammad Mohajeri, who used to write for the ultra-hard-line “Kayhan” daily, seems to believe it was wrong to vote for Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. He says those who made that “mistake” should now admit it:
These days answering the question ‘Was voting for Ahmadinejad a mistake?’ has turned into a nightmare for [some] conservatives. They think that if they admit that voting for Ahmadinejad was a mistake, it means that if they had voted for Ahmadinejad’s rivals they would had done the right thing, while this is not at all the case.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1019.html
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Iran to prosecute 26 U.S. officials
Iran’s Parliament is reviewing a plan to prosecute 26 U.S. officials in absentia in order to later refer them to “competent” international tribunals, the deputy head of National Security and Foreign Policy Commission announced today.
Esmail Kosari added that the Islamic Republic will vigorously pursue these prosecutions in defence of the rights of the “oppressed people of the world.”
Iran had previously accused the 26 U.S. officials of “human rights violations” in what appears to be a tit-for-tat response to U.S. sanctions recently imposed on Iranian officials.
Among the 26 U.S. officials to be blacklisted by Iran: former defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld; Paul Bremer, the U.S. civilian administrator who oversaw Iraq after Saddam Hussein’s removal; General Tommy Franks, the head of U.S. Central Command during the Iraq invasion of Iraq; as well as the current and former commanders of the Guantanamo Bay detention centre.
A spokesman for the Iranian Parliament had announced earlier that some of the U.S. officials are being charged with taking a “direct role in crimes against humanity” while others face “drug charges.”
Kazem Jalali added that this is just a preliminary list and others will follow.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iran-prosecute-26-us-officials
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Incarcerated Political Prisoner Farah Vazehan in Urgent Need of Medical Treatment
Farah Vazehan incarcerated Iranian citizen behind bars at Evin prison is in urgent need of furlough in order to receive medical treatment. Judicial officials however, continue to ignore her dire condition.
Vazehan who is currently serving a 17 year prison sentence, is suffering from a tumor in her feet. Her physical well being is in grave danger and she is unable to perform mundane, daily tasks.
http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=11429
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Lebanon indictments unleash accusations of sabotage, betrayal over murder of ex-premier
Ik begin me langzamerhand af te vragen wanneer Saad Hariri ook op een autobom loopt, omdat hij de waarheid aan het licht brengt.
The son of assassinated Prime Minister Rafik Hariri accused Lebanon’s new premier Monday of bowing to pressure from Hezbollah, which is refusing to turn over four members indicted by a U.N.-backed tribunal for the truck bombing that killed the Lebanese statesman in 2005.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati fired back, suggesting Saad Hariri — himself a former prime minister — was trying to exploit his father’s death for political gain and tear apart the country.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/lebanons-pro-western-faction-urges-arrests-in-ex-pm-hariris-assassination/2011/07/04/gHQAUFiRxH_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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Prominent Iran Lawyer Jailed For Nine Years
A Tehran court has sentenced a prominent lawyer to nine years in jail on charges of attempting to overthrow the ruling Islamic system.
Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, a founder of the Defenders of Human Rights Center along with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, had represented activists and opposition supporters arrested after the disputed 2009 presidential election.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_jails_prominent_lawyer_for_9_years/24255908.html
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Israeli military intelligence chief says Iran deepening regional influence, meddling in Syria
Israel’s military intelligence chief said Tuesday that Iran has exploited the recent unrest in the Middle East to deepen its influence throughout the region, accusing the Islamic Republic of actively intervening in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and beyond.
Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi told Israeli lawmakers that Iran was involved in planning two violent confrontations with crowds that tried to breach Israel’s frontiers with Lebanon and Syria in recent months. He also said Iran, along with the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah, is providing assistance to the Syrian regime in suppressing mass protests against it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/israeli-military-intelligence-chief-says-iran-deepening-regional-influence-meddling-in-egypt/2011/07/05/gHQA9Nf1yH_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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VIDEO: Iranian tourist attraction dries up
Iran’s biggest tourist attraction
Blame it on the west Jews and Amerika.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14031700
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Academic conference explores “othering” of Iranian Baha’is
Iranian scholars, many from globally prominent universities, gathered here for a groundbreaking academic conference on the persecution of Iran’s Baha’is.
Titled “Intellectual Othering and the Baha’i Question in Iran,” the conference examined how Iranian authorities have sought to exclude Baha’is from social, political, cultural, and intellectual life by portraying them as outsiders in their own land – a process known as “othering.”
The event, held from 1-3 July, was the first major academic conference at a top-ranked university to focus on the persecution of Iran’s Baha’is in any context.
“This conference is not a Baha’i studies conference,” said its main organizer Mohamad Tavakoli. “It is an effort to understand the use of repression in the history of modern Iran and how the ‘othering’ of Baha’is has become a mechanism of mass mobilization for the legitimization of the state and for the creation of political-religious ideology.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1050.html
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Fears grow for lawyer of woman in Iran stoning case.
Lawyer still in prison after speaking to foreign media about case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani.
Human rights activists have raised serious concerns about a lawyer who fell foul of Iran’s Islamic regime for highlighting the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.
On the first anniversary of the international uproar that forced Iran to temporarily halt the punishment of Mohammadi Ashtiani, campaigners said they had fears for her lawyer, Houtan Kian, who remains incommunicado in prison nine months after he was arrested and has been reportedly tortured.
Kian was arrested last October with Mohammadi Ashtiani’s son, Sajjad Ghaderzadeh, and two German journalists who were interviewing them without the government’s permission in the western city of Tabriz. A few weeks before his arrest, Kian had complained that his house had been raided by security forces and his files confiscated.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/06/lawyer-woman-iran-stoning-case
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Iran Killing American Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Just so we’re absolutely clear about the nature of the Iranian regime, here are two reports about Iranian efforts to kill American soldiers. From The Wall Street Journal:
The Revolutionary Guard has smuggled rocket-assisted exploding projectiles to its militia allies in Iraq, weapons that have already resulted in the deaths of American troops, defense officials said. They said Iranians have also given long-range rockets to the Taliban in Afghanistan, increasing the insurgents’ ability to hit U.S. and other coalition positions from a safer distance.
Such arms shipments would escalate the shadow competition for influence playing out between Tehran and Washington across the Middle East and North Africa, fueled by U.S. preparations to draw down forces from two wars and the political rebellions that are sweeping the region.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/07/iran-killing-american-troops-in-iraq-and-afghanistan/241486/
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Iran wants George W. Bush arrested.
Idiots.
U.S. President Barack Obama should set an example and put his predecessor on trial, the chairman of the Iranian Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday.
Iranian Maj. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi said Wednesday that former U.S. President George W. Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair should stand trial.
“The current president of the United States should be a pioneer in putting Bush and his criminal colleagues on trial,” Firouzabadi was quoted by Iran’s state-funded broadcaster Press TV as saying. “Otherwise, he will be named as a criminal along with Bush and Blair.”
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/07/06/Iran-wants-George-W-Bush-arrested/UPI-28551309975814/#ixzz1RMKuFosg
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Revolutionary Guards commander sets conditions for return of reformists
Humor.
The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) discussed the potential role of reformists in the coming elections in an interview yesterday.
The daily newspaper Ebtekar quoted Brigadier General Mohammad Ali Jaffari, saying: “Those reformists who have not crossed red lines can obviously participate in political races. As for how successful [former Iranian president Mohammad] Khatami could be, that depends on his political stance.”
The IRGC commander added: “In the course of sedition, Khatami did not pass the test with flying colours, as he was, after all, a collaborator with the leaders of the sedition. He supported them and so far he has not yet purged himself from that movement.”
The Islamic Republic establishment refers to protests that took shape in 2009 after the disputed reelection of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as “sedition.” MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, two Ahmadinejad opponents in the presidential race who are currently under house arrest, are referred to as “leaders of sedition.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1056.html
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Reformists should boycott restrictive elections: Tajzadeh
Senior Iranian reformist Mostafa Tajzadeh says reformists should refrain from participating in any election that is not fully open, as a way of challenging its legitimacy.
Tajzadeh, a member of the banned reformist parties the Islamic Iran Participation Front and Mujahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization, told the Kaleme opposition website that there is no “middle ground” and reformists can only take part in the election if it is completely free and open.
The interview, which took place during Tajzadeh’s furlough from Evin Prison in June, has come to the forefront of an ongoing public and media debate over the participation of reformists in the coming parliamentary elections.
Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, also considered a chief reformist figure, had previously set conditions for reformist participation in elections: all political prisoners must be released and banned political parties must be able to operate freely and openly.
In this vein, he has called for opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi to be released from house arrest and also for the provision of all “basic and civil liberties.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1097.html
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Plan for gender divide at Iran’s universities spills into political clashes.
Iran’s political power struggles have brought no shortage of cutthroat intrigue with careers ruined, government officials arrested and even accusations of black magic. And now this — firebrand President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the voice of liberal dissent.
That’s the latest twist in the showdown between Ahmadinejad and Iran’s ruling clerics. Ahmadinejad — reviled by the opposition as a figurehead of hard-line rule — is now temporarily in the reformists’ corner by opposing plans to segregate male and female students at Iranian universities.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/plan-for-gender-divide-at-irans-universities-spills-into-irans-political-clashes/2011/07/10/gIQADnoH7H_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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Panetta Says Iranian Arms in Iraq Are a ‘Concern’
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said on Sunday that weapons he said were supplied by Iran had become a “tremendous concern” for the United States in recent weeks in Iraq, where more American troops died in June than in any month over the three previous years.
“We’re seeing more of those weapons going in from Iran, and they’ve really hurt us,” Mr. Panetta said before arriving here on an unannounced trip, his first to the Iraqi capital as defense secretary.
Mr. Panetta is the third top American official to raise an alarm about Iranian influence in Iraq in recent days. The American ambassador to Iraq, James F. Jeffrey, recently said that the United States had “forensic proof” that weapons and weapons parts from Iran were being used by Shiite militias against American troops. His remarks were echoed by Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/11/world/middleeast/11military.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
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It’s hard to make light of the plight of my people, the Bahá’ís
The Bahá’í community has faced repression for years in an Iran that seeks to control private thought and beliefs
Back in the mid-90s in my show I’m A Short Fat Kebab Shop Owner’s Son, I touched on cultural clashes that shaped my personality as an Iranian immigrant in Britain. Authenticity is paramount for a comedian, and as I prepare to tour a new standup show I’m getting braver: this time, I will be exploring what it is like to be an Iranian born into a Bahá’í family.
The plight of the Bahá’í community in Iran has served as a backdrop to my life growing up in London, particularly since the Islamic revolution in 1979.
Bahá’ís follow teachings that include the oneness of humanity and the unity of religion. This worldwide community – Bahá’ís of almost all backgrounds live in 188 countries – is striving to contribute to the betterment of the world through an educational process that seeks to raise capacities within populations to take charge of their spiritual, social and intellectual development, thus bringing positive change to their communities.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/jul/10/bahai-iran-repression
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Two Iranian Political Prisoners Denied Medical Leave
The relatives of two jailed Iranian political activists have expressed concern about the health of their loved ones, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Ali Tabarzadi, son of prominent political activist Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, told Radio Farda on July 10 that his father has developed heart disease in prison.
He said his father has been transferred to the infirmary at Rajaee Shahr prison in Karaj, west of Tehran, but was given only basic treatment and needs to leave prison for serious medical care.
http://www.rferl.org/content/two_iranian_political_prisoners_denied_medical_leave/24263418.html
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Controversy Flares over Iran Arms to Iraq
Tensions are deepening between Washington and Tehran over new claims about Iranian military aid to Iraqi militias. The Obama administration charges that the Iranian arms have been increasingly used in attacks against U.S. troops. The U.S. holds the radical militias responsible for the deaths of 18 American soldiers since June1 —the highest monthly death toll in two years.
New U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta repeatedly addressed Iran’s arming of Shiite militias in Iraq during his July 8-11 trip to Afghanistan and Iraq. The following are Panetta’s statements and Iran’s responses.
“We’re very concerned about Iran and weapons they’re providing to extremists here in Iraq…And the reality is that we’ve seen the results of that — in June, we lost a hell of a lot of Americans … and we cannot just simply stand back and allow this to continue to happen.” June 11 statement in Iraq
“We did lose an awful lot of troops last month, and we’re continuing to see attacks. And a lot of this that we think can be tracked to Iran and their supplying of weapons to insurgents here who are conducting these kinds of attacks. That raises a lot of concerns.” July 11 interview with NBC News
“I think it’s very important to let them know that, you know, we do not appreciate their support for terrorism, here or anyplace else in the world. And they’ve been in engaging in basically not only equipping terrorists but supporting them…that’s not just a responsibility that we have; I think it’s a responsibility that the world has to send the signal to Iran that we’re not going to tolerate that — they can’t just go around supporting terrorism in the world. The world is going to respond to that kind of behavior. If they want to be a member of the family of nations, they’ve got to act like it.” July 11 interview with NBC News
http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2011/jul/12/controversy-flares-over-iran-arms-iraq
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Ahmadinejad urges Arabs to democratize even as his nation doesn’t
Some would consider it rather rich. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who got his post after a widely disputed election and serves under an unelected cleric whose powers are officially second only to God, encouraged Arab governments to heed their people’s demands for reform.
“Today, the people of the region must enjoy equal rights, the right to vote, security and dignity, and no government can deprive them of freedom and justice or refuse their peoples’ demands,” Ahmadinejad said in a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Monday evening, according to the president’s official website (in Persian). “The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that all regional governments can run their countries by introducing reforms and realizing their peoples’ demands.”
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/07/iran-president-urges-arab-governments-to-heed-popular-demands-warns-others-of-western-plots.html
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White House sharpens rhetoric against Syria’s Assad.
The White House said today that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had ”lost legitimacy” for failing to lead a democratic transition, but stopped short of explicitly calling on him to step down. It was the strongest language the White House has used against the Syrian ruler over his harsh crackdown on protests and mostly echoed comments by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a day earlier. ”Our position is that President Assad is not indispensable and that we had called on him to lead this transition,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney. ”He clearly has not, and he has lost legitimacy by refusing to lead the transition.” The sharpened rhetoric follows an assault by Assad loyalists on the US and French embassies in Damascus, which drew strong condemnation by the United Nations Security Council. Pressed on why President Barack Obama had not gone further and urged Assad to leave office, Carney told reporters: ”There’s really a growing consensus among the Syrian people that this transition needs to take place and that President Assad is not going to lead it … The Syrian people will, should, be able to decide their own future.”
http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG4_sub.asp?ccode=ENG4&newscode=53181
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Basij leader slams senior reformists
The head of Iran’s Basij militia, Mohammadreza Naghdi, has condemned recent attacks against the Revolutionary Guards, saying those who insult the Corps are “mercenaries and the scum of political hypocrisy.”
In a recent statement, senior reformist figure Mohammadreza Khatami said the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has been interfering in political matters. Khatami accused Commander Jaffari of speaking as if the Islamic Republic were under a coup d’etat.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1117.html
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Iranian prisoners condemned to gradual death: jailed journalist
In an urgent letter to a United Nations human rights official, jailed Iranian journalist Issa Saharkhiz has accused Iranian authorities of using harsh prison conditions to slowly kill political prisoners.
“What is happening now in the Islamic Republic prisons is a crime against humanity and has nothing less than Stalin’s inhumane treatment of prisoners in the forced labour camps of Siberia,” Saharkhiz wrote to Ahmad Shaheed, the UN Human Rights Rapporteur on Iran. The letter was posted on the personal website of Mehdi Saharkhiz, the jailed journalist’s son.
Saharkhiz writes that political prisoners are not the sole target of this policy, and the situation for general prisoners is “no less disastrous.”
Saharkhiz warns that the objective of the Iranian authorities is “to kill the protesting prisoners silently and gradually.”
Referring to the death of two political prisoners, Hoda Saber and Mohsen Dokmehchi, he writes: “They are deliberately trying to destroy us and have prepared a silent death for us because they fear our survival even behind bars.”
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iranian-prisoners-condemned-gradual-death-jailed-journalist
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U.S. Voices Dismay Over Report That Iranian Christian Faces ‘Convert or Die’ Choice
The United States government voiced concern Wednesday about the plight of an Iranian Christian pastor sentenced to death for apostasy. Reports say his appeal to a higher court resulted in a stark choice – disavow the Christian faith or die.
“While Iran’s leaders hypocritically claim to promote tolerance, they continue to detain, imprison, harass, and abuse those who simply wish to worship the faith of their choosing,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.
“We join the international community in continuing to call on the Iranian government to respect the fundamental rights of all its citizens and uphold its international commitments to protect them.”
Yosef (Youcef) Nadarkhani, a 32 year-old father and evangelical pastor who embraced Christianity at age 19, was arrested in October 2009, reportedly for objecting to the teaching of Islam to Christian children at Iranian schools. The indictment against him accused him of organizing evangelistic meetings, sharing his faith and inviting others to convert, running a house church and “denying Islamic values.”
He was sentenced to death by hanging late last year, and he lodged an appeal with Iran’s Supreme Court.
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/us-voices-dismay-over-report-iranian-chr
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Controversy Flares over Iran Arms to Iraq
Tensions are deepening between Washington and Tehran over new claims about Iranian military aid to Iraqi militias. The Obama administration charges that the Iranian arms have been increasingly used in attacks against U.S. troops. The U.S. holds the radical militias responsible for the deaths of 18 American soldiers since June1 —the highest monthly death toll in two years.
New U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta repeatedly addressed Iran’s arming of Shiite militias in Iraq during his July 8-11 trip to Afghanistan and Iraq. The following are Panetta’s statements and Iran’s responses.
“We’re very concerned about Iran and weapons they’re providing to extremists here in Iraq…And the reality is that we’ve seen the results of that — in June, we lost a hell of a lot of Americans … and we cannot just simply stand back and allow this to continue to happen.” June 11 statement in Iraq
“We did lose an awful lot of troops last month, and we’re continuing to see attacks. And a lot of this that we think can be tracked to Iran and their supplying of weapons to insurgents here who are conducting these kinds of attacks. That raises a lot of concerns.” July 11 interview with NBC News
“I think it’s very important to let them know that, you know, we do not appreciate their support for terrorism, here or anyplace else in the world. And they’ve been in engaging in basically not only equipping terrorists but supporting them…that’s not just a responsibility that we have; I think it’s a responsibility that the world has to send the signal to Iran that we’re not going to tolerate that — they can’t just go around supporting terrorism in the world. The world is going to respond to that kind of behavior. If they want to be a member of the family of nations, they’ve got to act like it.” July 11 interview with NBC News
http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2011/jul/12/controversy-flares-over-iran-arms-iraq
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Ahmadinejad urges Arabs to democratize even as his nation doesn’t
Spuit elf geeft ook weer eens modder.
Some would consider it rather rich. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who got his post after a widely disputed election and serves under an unelected cleric whose powers are officially second only to God, encouraged Arab governments to heed their people’s demands for reform.
“Today, the people of the region must enjoy equal rights, the right to vote, security and dignity, and no government can deprive them of freedom and justice or refuse their peoples’ demands,” Ahmadinejad said in a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Monday evening, according to the president’s official website (in Persian). “The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that all regional governments can run their countries by introducing reforms and realizing their peoples’ demands.”
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/07/iran-president-urges-arab-governments-to-heed-popular-demands-warns-others-of-western-plots.html
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White House sharpens rhetoric against Syria’s Assad.
The White House said today that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had ”lost legitimacy” for failing to lead a democratic transition, but stopped short of explicitly calling on him to step down. It was the strongest language the White House has used against the Syrian ruler over his harsh crackdown on protests and mostly echoed comments by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a day earlier. ”Our position is that President Assad is not indispensable and that we had called on him to lead this transition,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney. ”He clearly has not, and he has lost legitimacy by refusing to lead the transition.” The sharpened rhetoric follows an assault by Assad loyalists on the US and French embassies in Damascus, which drew strong condemnation by the United Nations Security Council. Pressed on why President Barack Obama had not gone further and urged Assad to leave office, Carney told reporters: ”There’s really a growing consensus among the Syrian people that this transition needs to take place and that President Assad is not going to lead it … The Syrian people will, should, be able to decide their own future.”
http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG4_sub.asp?ccode=ENG4&newscode=53181
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Basij leader slams senior reformists
The head of Iran’s Basij militia, Mohammadreza Naghdi, has condemned recent attacks against the Revolutionary Guards, saying those who insult the Corps are “mercenaries and the scum of political hypocrisy.”
In a recent statement, senior reformist figure Mohammadreza Khatami said the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has been interfering in political matters. Khatami accused Commander Jaffari of speaking as if the Islamic Republic were under a coup d’etat.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1117.html
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Iranian prisoners condemned to gradual death: jailed journalist
In an urgent letter to a United Nations human rights official, jailed Iranian journalist Issa Saharkhiz has accused Iranian authorities of using harsh prison conditions to slowly kill political prisoners.
“What is happening now in the Islamic Republic prisons is a crime against humanity and has nothing less than Stalin’s inhumane treatment of prisoners in the forced labour camps of Siberia,” Saharkhiz wrote to Ahmad Shaheed, the UN Human Rights Rapporteur on Iran. The letter was posted on the personal website of Mehdi Saharkhiz, the jailed journalist’s son.
Saharkhiz writes that political prisoners are not the sole target of this policy, and the situation for general prisoners is “no less disastrous.”
Saharkhiz warns that the objective of the Iranian authorities is “to kill the protesting prisoners silently and gradually.”
Referring to the death of two political prisoners, Hoda Saber and Mohsen Dokmehchi, he writes: “They are deliberately trying to destroy us and have prepared a silent death for us because they fear our survival even behind bars.”
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iranian-prisoners-condemned-gradual-death-jailed-journalist
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U.S. Voices Dismay Over Report That Iranian Christian Faces ‘Convert or Die’ Choice
The United States government voiced concern Wednesday about the plight of an Iranian Christian pastor sentenced to death for apostasy. Reports say his appeal to a higher court resulted in a stark choice – disavow the Christian faith or die.
“While Iran’s leaders hypocritically claim to promote tolerance, they continue to detain, imprison, harass, and abuse those who simply wish to worship the faith of their choosing,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.
“We join the international community in continuing to call on the Iranian government to respect the fundamental rights of all its citizens and uphold its international commitments to protect them.”
Yosef (Youcef) Nadarkhani, a 32 year-old father and evangelical pastor who embraced Christianity at age 19, was arrested in October 2009, reportedly for objecting to the teaching of Islam to Christian children at Iranian schools. The indictment against him accused him of organizing evangelistic meetings, sharing his faith and inviting others to convert, running a house church and “denying Islamic values.”
He was sentenced to death by hanging late last year, and he lodged an appeal with Iran’s Supreme Court.
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/us-voices-dismay-over-report-iranian-chr
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Jailed Iranian Journalist Appeals To UN Rapporteur
A prominent jailed Iranian journalist has urged a newly appointed UN human rights investigator to visit Iran as soon as possible in order to inform the world about the “heinous acts” committed in the country’s prisons, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Isa Saharkhiz, a journalist and member of the Association for the Defense of Press Freedom, wrote in a letter to Ahmed Shaheed that “what is happening in the prisons of the Islamic Republic [of Iran] is a crime against humanity no less than the inhumane measures [implemented by Soviet leader Josef] Stalin in Siberian concentration camps.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/jailed_iranian_journalist_appeals_to_un_rapporteur/24264623.html
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US interests in Iraq: Like a good neighbor, Turkey is there.
Whether US troops stay in Iraq beyond the end of year or not, the US must foster the relationship between Iraq and Turkey. Ankara is the perfect counter to competing Saudi and Iranian influence.
Iraqis often remind Americans that the US presence in their country is only temporary, while the country’s neighbors are permanent. This long view is important to remember in the midst of the drama surrounding Defense Secretary Panetta’s recent visit to Baghdad. Mr. Panetta visited last week to express “tremendous concern” regarding increased Iranian arms in Iraq and push forward discussions with the Iraqi government on whether American troops will be asked to stay on after the end of this year.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/0713/US-interests-in-Iraq-Like-a-good-neighbor-Turkey-is-there?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fcsm+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+%7C+All+Stories%29
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Iran’s Most Dangerous General.
On May 18, President Barack Obama imposed sanctions against Major General Qassem Suleimani, chief of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), who is identified as “the conduit for Iranian material support” to the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate. To counter Suleimani and the Quds Force, US strategists need to understand his history of overconfident behavior and military successes. A survey of the open-source literature pertaining to Suleimani reveals a man who became a successful general without much formal training. Though a shrewd tactical leader, Suleimani is not a strategist.
http://www.aei.org/outlook/101063
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They Want To Kill My Son: Father of Jailed Iranian Blogger
Ahmad Ronaghi Maleki, the father of jailed Iranian blogger, Hossein Ronaghi Maleki is concerned for his son’s failing health and something even worse, saying: “My son’s interrogators had told me earlier in a phone call that they will kill my son and now they are proving their words right.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1125.html
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Ship of fools
While hundreds are being murdered by Middle East dictators a bunch of misguided characters are trying their best to embarrass Israel. They use wonderful creative language and witty words to describe the shenanigans they are up to, but it doesn’t change some basic facts.
First fact is that the leadership of the endeavor is directly linked to “Hamas,” an organization guilty of the horrible killing of innocent civilians in order to further its goals.
Since 2007 Hamas has governed the Gaza strip and they enforce a policy of Islamic fundamentalism. They began as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood although their military wing is run from Damascus, Syria.
Hamas was founded to establish an Islamic state in what is now Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. They use a clever sleight of hand gimmick when they say they only want the West Bank and Gaza. They also demand what they call the right of return into Israel.
http://www.bclocalnews.com/lifestyles/125515838.html
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Ahmadinejad ready for parliamentary questions: MP
An Iranian MP has announced that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is ready to respond to any parliamentary questioning, even though the motion to summon him to Parliament essentially has stalled because many sponsoring MPs have withdrawn their signatures.
MP Moussalreza Servati, representing Bojnourd in Parliament, told Khabar-on-line that the president is willing to answer the questions outlined in the motion to Parliament’s Presiding Board.
In June, a motion to question the president on a series of administrative irregularities was submitted to the head of Parliament.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/ahmadinejad-ready-parliamentary-questions-mp
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Iranian Blogger Expected At Women’s World Cup Reported Missing.
Iranian actress and blogger Pegah Ahangarani is missing amid concerns she may have been arrested in Tehran, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Ahangarani was scheduled to travel to Germany on July 4 to blog about the 2011 women’s soccer World Cup for Deutsche Welle.
Farhad Payar, an independent journalist who also works with Deutsche Welle, told Radio Farda on July 13 that Ahangarani was summoned to Iran’s Intelligence Ministry the day before her planned departure and warned she would be arrested if she went to the airport.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iranian_blogger_expected_at_womens_world_cup_reported_missing/24265670.html
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Has Obama Pushed Pakistan Toward Iran?
Two days after the announcement that the U.S. will be withholding more than one third of its annual $2 billion in aid to Pakistan’s military, the state-controlled Tehran Times reported that Iran’s Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar will be visiting Pakistan. The newly announced visit is scheduled to take place at the end of next week.
According to the same report, the purpose of the visit will be to “hold talks on economic, regional and security cooperation between the two countries”.
The current rift between Islamabad and Washington could not have come at a better time for Iran’s leaders. Feeling increasingly isolated, they could now try to improve relations with Pakistan. And, in all likelihood, the initial signs are bound to be positive for the leaderships of the two nations.
Pakistan is currently facing a major energy crisis, which some analysts believe may be the worst in its history. It desperately needs Iranian gas and is not shy to say it. “Our dependence on the Iran pipeline is very high. There is no other substitute at present to meet our growing demand for energy” stated Pakistani minister for petroleum, Asim Hussain recently.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/07/has-obama-pushed-pakistan-toward-iran/241942/
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Iraqi extremists using Iranian weapons, spokesman says
There is no doubt that deadly weapons being used against American forces in Iraq originated in Iran, a U.S. Forces-Iraq spokesman said July 11.
Army Maj. Gen. Jeff Buchanan led reporters traveling with Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta on a tour of Joint Task Force Troy, where they were free to talk to the men and women who examine all enemy ordnance to determine its origin and to look for ways to defeat the threat or prosecute those who launch attacks.
Part of the unit is the combined explosive exploitation cell laboratories. “When (explosive ordnance disposal) teams go out and they respond to an explosive event, they collect whatever evidence they find and bring it back,” said a military official at the unit, speaking on background. “We take that evidence and take it apart and exploit it.”
The team looks at the weapon from a technical and chemical viewpoint. “You put all those puzzles together, and you can determine where they are from,” the official said. The team also can sweep the weapons for fingerprints and DNA evidence.
Buchanan showed the reporters evidence tracing weapons used in many different attacks to Iran. One piece was an IRAM, short for ‘improvised rocket-assisted mortar.” The extremists took the rocket motor off a 240 mm rocket and attached a much larger warhead. They generally are shot in volleys, the general said.
Fifteen Americans were killed in Iraq in June. Nine of the dead were from just two attacks.
http://www.ftleavenworthlamp.com/news/x2094012871/Iraqi-extremists-using-Iranian-weapons-spokesman-says
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Iranian pastor’s death sentence still stands
Christian Solidarity Worldwide has confirmed that an Iranian pastor’s death sentence for apostasy has not been annulled.
There had been reports that the Supreme Court of Iran had overturned the death sentence handed down to Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani by a lower court last year.
The organisation has this week received a copy of a written verdict from the Supreme Court that confirms a verbal notification made earlier this year stating that the pastor’s appeal against his sentence had been unsuccessful.
The written verdict asks the court in Rasht, which originally sentenced him, to re-examine procedural flaws in the case.
Despite this, however, it has “ultimately given local judges a free hand to decide whether to release, execute or retry Mr Nadarkhani in October”, CSW said.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/iranian.pastors.death.sentence.still.stands/28294.htm
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Iran: Larijani Preparing for the Presidency?
Is hetzelfde als Joseph Goebels President van Duitsland maken.
Two years after the controversial presidential election of 2009 and at the height of the differences between Ahmadinejad and ayatollah Khamenei, Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani spoke with reporters and stressed his and Majlis’s absolute obedience to the leader and said that velayate faghih (i.e., rule of clerics) was the “outstanding” feature of the Islamic republic. He also criticized Ahmadinejad’s administration and said “demonstrations” and “protests” were people rightful rights.
Speaking to Fars news agency, Larijani stressed on ayatollah Khamenei’s role in Majlis’s decision-making process. “In my opinion our (political) system has an outstanding center called velayate faghih and if during the different periods of time not enough attention was paid to this position, during the imam’s (i.e., Khomeini) presence and that of grand ayatollah Khamenei, then the country would suffer.”
“We at the Majlis sometimes pass something but when we realize that the leader has a different view, then we change our position. I think this is one of the positive aspects of the eight Majlis in that when it understands the views of the leader, it acts on it,” he said. Last June/July, when a group of administration supporters gathered outside the Majlis and chanted pro-government slogans, Larijani defended the Majlis and called the “Khamenei Majlis.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1138.html
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Iranian dervishes get jail, flogging
Four Iranian dervishes from Gonabad have been sentenced to six months in prison and 40 lashes for “disturbing public order.” The Jaras website reports that the four dervishes from the Nematollahi order were charged with participating in a protest against the Sarvestan Governor’s office.
Last August, the dervishes set up an exhibition of mysticism in Sarvestan, after which a number of the dervishes held a peaceful rally. According to Jaras, “after the rally, government plainclothes forces attacked the exhibition, burning down the tents and breaking the windows of the Governor’s office in order to force the protests into chaos and aggression.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1137.html
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How Disappointed are Arabs in US Policies? Answer: Very
How disappointed are Arabs in the policies of the United States since President Barack Obama took office? The answer: very.
The Arab American Institute (AAI) released the findings of the latest AAI/Zogby International poll findings conducted in six Arab nations: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Lebanon. The poll was commissioned after President Obama’s State Department address on the popular uprisings in the Arab world two months ago. More than 4,000 Arab citizens were surveyed.
After a remarkable improvement in U.S. popularity in the Arab world with the election of President Obama in 2008, favorable ratings of the U.S. across the Arab world have plummeted even lower than where they were at the end of the Bush Administration.
For example, favorability ratings dropped from 26 percent in 2008 to 12 percent in 2011 in Morocco and from 9 percent to 5 percent in Egypt. The only exception was in Saudi Arabia where U.S. ratings improved from 13 percent to 30 percent because of the United States’ strong stance against Iran. On average, President Obama’s favorable ratings across the Arab world are now 10 percent or less.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/How-Disappointed-are-Arabs-in-United-States-125631748.html
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Tehran ready to give Syria 5.8 bln dollar -French paper
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini backs offering 5.8 billion dollar in aid to Syria to bolster its economy, a French newspaper said today, citing a report by a Tehran think-tank linked to Iran’s leadership. Damascus has long been Tehran’s main ally among otherwise mainly hostile Arab states. After four months of popular unrest, Syria’s economy is reeling under the weight of strikes, reduced oil exports, scaled-back trade and international sanctions. Its troubles have prompted Iran’s leadership to consider offering 5.8 billion dollar in financial help, including a three-month loan worth 1.5 billion dollar to be made available immediately, French business daily Les Echos said. It added that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has backed the idea of the aid, which was outlined in a secret report by the Centre for Strategic Research, a think tank linked to the Iranian leadership.
http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG4_sub.asp?ccode=ENG4&newscode=53232
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Iran tells Christian pastor: recant or face execution
Iranian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani faces execution unless he renounces his faith in Christ, a written verdict from the country’s supreme court has confirmed.
Baptist Press reported July 8 that Christians in Iran were challenging news reports that Nadarkhani’s death penalty had been annulled. The Christian Solidarity Worldwide human rights organization reported July 14 that the court’s written verdict had been released, confirming that Nadarkhani faces execution unless he renounces his faith.
http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/BPnews.asp?ID=35761
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Authorities confirm arrest of actress, blogger
Iranian authorities finally confirmed yesterday the arrest of Pegah Ahangarani, the Iranian actress and blogger who had been missing for days.
Ahangarani, the daughter of Iranian filmmakers Manijeh Hekmat and Jamsheed Ahangarani, was supposed to cover the Women’s World Cup of Soccer championship in Germany on a blog set up by Deutsche Welle’s Persian service.
Last year she covered the Berlinale film festival on a similar blog.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1148.html
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Emad Afrough: Don’t expect Iranian People to Participate in Elections
Sighn on the wall ??
Negative View on Upcoming Elections by Principlists
Former Mahmoud Ahmadinejad supporter Emad Afrough has predicted that the elite will not participate in the upcoming Majlis elections thus negating the possibility of change in the next Majlis or massive public participation in the elections.
This Principlist activist (principlists are those who believe in the essence of the Islamic revolution of 1979, supporting ayatollah Khomeini, Khamenei and even Ahmadinejad, although more recently some of them, like Afrough, no longer support Ahmadinejad) told Khabar Online news site (close to Majlis speaker Ali Larijani) that because of the events prior, during and after the 2009 disputed presidential election, there “shall be no massive participation of elite and the public in the upcoming Majlis elections.”
He said he too would not be a candidate in the elections.
Afrough was among the original theoreticians of the Hezbollah movement during the 1990s and a staunch and vocal critic of Mohammad Khatami’s reformist administration, the sixth reformist Majlis and generally the reform movement. In 2005, he was, along with Mohammad Khoshchehreh, the key theoretician for those supporting Ahmadinejad for his first presidential term.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1154.html
Argentina Tells Iran To Hand Over 1994 Bombing Suspects
The prosecutor investigating the worst terror attack on Argentine soil, the 1994 bombing of a Jewish charities building in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people, has urged Iran to hand over suspects in the case.
Prosecutor Alberto Nisman made the comments on July 16 after an Iranian Foreign Ministry statement said earlier in the day that Tehran, suspected by Argentina of being behind the attack, was “ready for a constructive dialogue” in the case.
Nisman said Iran’s offer is just empty words unless it hands over the Iranian suspects sought by Argentina.
http://www.rferl.org/content/argentina_tells_iran_to_hand_over_1994_bombing_suspects/24267894.html
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Iran ‘to co-operate’ over Argentina Jewish centre bomb.
Iran says it is ready to co-operate with Argentina over the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community centre in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires.
Argentina has blamed Iran for the attack, in which 85 people died.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry denied any involvement and said it would help Argentina with its investigation, which it said “was going down the wrong way”.
Argentina said that it would publish a report into the attack within days.
Tehran said it was “ready for a constructive dialogue and to co-operate with the Argentine government to shed all possible light” on the case.
In a statement published by the state news agency IRNA, Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the attack and sent its sympathies to the victims.
Interpol has issued an arrest warrant for five Iranians and one Lebanese in connection with the bombing.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-14175337
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Top Iranian to Pakistan president: US is your real ‘enemy’
Leaders discuss expansion of economic ties as Islamabad-Washington relations falter
Iran’s supreme leader on Saturday told visiting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari that the United States is Pakistan’s real enemy.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke during Zardari’s second visit to Iran in less than a month.
Khamenei has the final say on all state matters in Iran.
The U.S.-Pakistan relationship has been on a downward spiral since the May 2 U.S. raid that killed al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani garrison town.
Pakistani leaders have protested the unilateral raid by kicking out many American military trainers and asking the U.S. to reduce its footprint in the country.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43782946/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/
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Photos: Morality Police Questioning and Detaining Women in Tehran
Iranian “morality police” has stepped up presence in the capital city. These photos show women in Tehran being stopped, questioned, advised or detained by the police. The authorities had previously announced that “morality police” will hit city streets in greater numbers this summer to confront violations of the Islamic dress code and other public transgressions.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1158.html
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IRGC Says Iran Controls Kurdish Rebel Camps In Iraq .
A commander for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has told the state-run IRNA news agency that Iranian forces have taken “full control” of three camps of the Iranian-Kurdish rebel PJAK movement inside Iraq.
http://www.rferl.org/content/irgc_says_iran_controls_kurdish_rebel_camps_in_iraq/24269110.html
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Blogger Mehdi Khazali Arrested, Again
Outspoken Iranian blogger Mehdi Khazali, the son of a hard-line ayatollah, has been arrested again after being summoned by intelligence officials, the opposition “Sahamnews” website reports.
This is the third time in the past two years that Khazali, who is best known for his blog and his criticism of the Iranian establishment and President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, has been arrested in Tehran.
http://www.rferl.org/content/blogger_mehdi_khazali_arrested_again/24269495.html
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BAHRAIN: Iran’s Khamenei sabotaged dialogue talks, official claims.
A top Bahraini official accused Iran of scuttling a potential deal between the government and the opposition during a weekend dialogue that nowhere.
Fahad Ebrahim Shehabi, a spokesman for the Bahraini parliament, said the talks were going well until the main Shiite Muslim opposition, Wefaq, pulled out because of Iran, which opposes Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy.
“The withdrawal of Wefaq came early in the negotiation process, whereas other opposition figures who have been supporters of Wefaq stayed in the negotiation process,” he told Babylon & Beyond in an interview. “This is because the decision is not in their hands; it is in the hands of the Wilayet Faqih,” a reference to Iran’s concept of theocratic rule by its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Wefaq has a different agenda,” he said. “They want an Islamic state under Wilayet Faqih and they received a green light from Tehran to withdraw from the negotiations.”
Shehabi did not cite proof. And opposition activists said the talks were disastrous because the entrenched Sunni monarchy of King Hamad Khalifa did not participate in the so-called dialogue, instead dispatching a bunch of toothless intermediaries.
Shehabi’s comments may show a paranoid world view by the Bahraini government or be another attempt to paint the opposition as a tool of the country’s large and unpopular northern neighbor, casting the ongoing repression against activists and dissidents as an attempt to stamp out an Iranian plot.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/07/bahrain-official-claims-khamenei-sabotaged-dialogue-talks.html
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Iran refuses to let in UN’s human rights monitor
Tehran bars special rapporteur Ahmad Shaheed, accusing countries responsible for his appointment of hypocrisy
Iran has announced that it will not permit the UN special rapporteur assigned with investigating its record of human rights to enter the country.
Ahmad Shaheed, the former Maldivian foreign affairs minister, was appointed by the UN in June to look into human rights violations in Iran, leading to much criticism from the regime in Tehran.
According to the Tehran Times, the state English-language newspaper, Mohammad Javad Larijani, Iran’s secretary general of the high council for human rights, said: “The western-engineered appointment of a special rapporteur for Iran is an illegal measure.”
Larijani – whose brothers Ali and Sadegh Larijani are Iran’s speaker of the parliament and head of the judiciary – added: “This unilateral action makes no sense and if they want to send a special rapporteur to Iran, they should take the same measure in the case of other countries.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/18/iran-refuses-un-human-rights
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IHRDC Chart of Executions by the Islamic Republic of Iran
This chart documents executions of people by the Islamic Republic of Iran beginning in December 2010. The official announcements are noted but, as the Iranian government does not announce many executions, it is difficult to know the exact number. IHRDC is thus unable to confirm the unofficial reports but has provided links to PDFs of the original sources. It will update this list on a regular basis.
http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/publications/3420-executions-in-iran.html
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Jews: Argentina and Iran both failed in bomb probe
Seventeen years after 85 people died in Argentina’s worst terrorist attack, their relatives criticized both Iran and their own government Monday for failing to solve the case.
Speaking at a ceremony on the anniversary of the 1994 attack on a Jewish community center, family members complained about the lack of progress in bringing those responsible to justice by politicians who have condemned the attacks.
“Such hypocrisy is sickening,” said Sergio Burstein, who represents relatives of victims in the bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association.
As President Cristina Fernandez listened silently in a cold winter rain outside the rebuilt community center, Burstein called on Iran to turn over the seven of its citizens accused of organizing the bombing.
But he also turned his anger at the investigative failures of Argentina’s police, courts and politicians. He said families are furious at the “impunity, corruption, complacency, lies and hypocrisy” that has characterized the case.
Burstein pointed to Carlos Menem, Argentina’s president at the time of the 1994 attack. Menem is charged with interfering in the probe by steering investigators away from a businessman friend who was implicated in the attack and, like Menem, has deep family ties to Syria.
http://www.kusi.com/story/15102142/jews-argentina-and-iran-both-failed-in-bomb-probe
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Latest developments in Arab world’s unrest
The discovery of three corpses with their eyes gouged out sets off a sectarian killing spree that leaves 30 people dead in a chilling sign that the Syrian revolt against President Bashar Assad is enflaming long-simmering religious tensions. The opposition accuses the president’s minority Alawite regime of trying to stir up trouble among the Sunni majority to blunt the growing enthusiasm for the four-month-old uprising. The protesters have been careful to portray their movement as free of any sectarian overtones.
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EGYPT
Egypt’s military rulers commission a top judge to form an electoral commission, starting the process of organizing the country’s first elections after the popular uprising that ousted authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak. The military decree sets a time frame for the first parliamentary elections in Egypt’s transition to democracy. The commission begins work on Sept.18, with the vote expected to follow roughly two months later.
LIBYA
YEMEN
IRAN
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
TUNISIA
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2011/07/18/latest_developments_in_arab_worlds_unrest/
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Iranian Actress Marzieh Vafamehr Arrested
According to Iran Green Voice, Iranian actress Marzieh Vafamehr, wife of film director and screenwriter Nasser Taghvai, was arrested two weeks ago in Tehran and remains in detention.
So far the authorities haven’t informed the family of Marzieh Vafamehr about the reasons for her arrest. However, it is believed this is due to her acting in Granaz Moussavi’s film My Tehran for Sale and appearing without hijab in a scene.
Marzieh is a young female actress living in Tehran. The authorities ban her theatre work and, like all young people in Iran, she is forced to lead a secret life in order to express herself artistically.
At an underground rave, she meets Iranian born Saman, now an Australian citizen, who offers her a way out of her country and the possibility of living without fear.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1171.html
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Iran Gang-Rape Case Bogs Down
Translation
Iran Gang rape downplayen
An Iranian provincial police chief says just one of the 13 defendants charged in the gang rape of a woman near the northeastern town of Kashmar has confessed to the crime, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Bahman Amiri-Moghadam, police chief in Razavi Khorasan Province, said there are ambiguities in the case, including the fact that “the person who reported it had problems himself,” the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported.
In late April, at least 10 men reportedly attacked and raped a woman who was returning from work in a village near Kashmar.
Mostafa Ghoreshi Yazdi, the judicial enforcement officer of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Kashmar, reported the attack to the city’s prosecutor but told him not to follow the case unless the alleged victim filed a complaint, Mehr News Agency reported.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_gang_rape_case_bogged_down/24270616.html
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Iran Says It Is Installing ‘Speedier’ Nuclear Centrifuges
Iran says it is installing new centrifuges with “better quality and speed” to enrich uranium at its nuclear facilities.
The announcement by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast comes despite four rounds of United Nations Security Council sanctions over Tehran’s refusal to halt uranium-enrichment work.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_installs_speedier_nuclear_centrifuges/24269933.html
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Iran’s acceleration of its nuclear programme angers the west
Tehran’s claim that tripling its uranium enrichment speed will help develop cancer treatments is dismissed as ‘a provocation’
Western capitals have reacted angrily to an announcement by Iran that it is installing more advanced centrifuges in a uranium enrichment plant with the aim of accelerating its nuclear programme.
“The installation of new centrifuges with better quality and speed is ongoing,” Ramin Mehmanparast, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, told reporters at his weekly press briefing.
“We have announced it and the agency [the International Atomic Energy Agency] has full supervision of them. They are fully aware that Iran’s peaceful nuclear activity continues to progress. This is another confirmation of the Islamic republic’s successful strides in its nuclear activities.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/19/iran-acceleration-nuclear-angers-west
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Iranian strongman killed in revenge attack
A celebrated Iranian strongman has been stabbed to death in Tehran in an apparent revenge attack after he questioned the standing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s Supreme Leader.
Ruhollah Dadashi was stabbed to death by three assailants after a head-on collision in Tehran last week.
He had been a prominent supporter of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. His skills were heavily promoted in the state media, especially in publications close to the controversial President.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10739537&ref=rss
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Iran navy eyes Atlantic tour
The Iranian navy plans on deploying warships to the Atlantic Ocean as part of a programme to ply international waters, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayari said in statements published yesterday.
But the commander of the navy, quoted by Kayhan newspaper, said he was waiting for “final approval” before launching the operation.
“In case of final approval (of the project) a fleet of the navy will be sent to the Atlantic (Ocean),” Sayari was quoted as saying without giving details about the fleet or where in the Atlantic Ocean it would be deployed.
“The presence (of ships and submarines) in the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean and international waters is still on the agenda of the navy,” Sayari said.
According to Sayari navy ships assigned to long-distance missions will be equipped with Noor cruise missiles. “Ships going on missions are equipped with surface-to-surface Noor missiles,” which have a range of 200km, he said.
In February Iran moved two warships into the Mediterranean Sea, crossing the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, triggering anger in Israel which branded the move “political provocation” and put its navy on alert.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=447818&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17
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Iranian Pastor Could Face Death
The former pastor of a network of Christian house churches in Iran has been told to exchange his faith for his life, according to news reports and human rights groups.
“We are dismayed over reports that the Iranian courts are requiring Youcef Nadarkhani to recant his Christian faith or face the death penalty for apostasy,” wrote U.S. Department of State Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland in a recent press statement.
Mr. Nadarkhani was arrested in his home city of Rasht on October 13, 2009 while attempting to register his church after protesting compulsory Islamic religious instruction in Iranian public schools. Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a human rights group, reports that he was originally charged with protesting, however, the charges against the 32-year-old convert to Christianity were later changed to apostasy and evangelizing Muslims.
The pastor was verbally sentenced to death in September 2010. On November 13, 2010, he received the same sentence in writing. Noted human rights lawyer Mohammad Ali Dadkhah appealed the decision to Iran’s Supreme Court. Mr. Dadkhah told AFP news agency July 3rd that the Supreme Court had “annulled” the death sentence and sent the case back to a lower court in Nadarkhani’s hometown to determine if Nadarkhani had been Muslim prior to his conversion to Christianity, but had also asked Nadarkhani to repent. That same day, however, a court in Tehran sentenced Mr. Dadkhah to nine years in jail and a 10-year ban on practicing law or teaching at university for “actions and propaganda against the Islamic regime”.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1181.html
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Conservative MP backs call to release political prisoners
Iranian conservative MP Ali Motahari says he agrees with former president Mohammad Khatami that political prisoners should be freed.
Khabar on line quotes Motahari saying: “I, too, am of the opinion that many of the post-election political prisoners should be released.”
He added, however, that Khatami is not in a position to set conditions for their participation in the coming elections, adding that if reformists boycott the parliamentary elections, it will lead to their further isolation.
Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami told a group of reformists last December that Iran’s reformists will only participate in the parliamentary elections if political prisoners are released, the constitution is adhered to and the elections are open and transparent.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/conservative-mp-backs-call-release-political-prisoners
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Iranian authorities arrest government critic again
Mehdi Khazali, an critic of the Islamic Republic and the head of Hayat Publishing, was arrested yesterday and taken to an unknown location, Tahavolesabz website reports.
Mehdi Khazali is the son of ultra-conservative cleric Abolghassem Khazali, a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts. Last year Abloghassem Khazali publicly disowned his son and condemned his critical views of the Islamic Republic government.
The son responded by saying: “Can Jihad be abandoned by a father’s orders? The issue is eliminating oppression and tyranny, which is incumbent upon all of us, and a father’s permission does not figure as a condition in this matter.”
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iranian-authorities-arrest-government-critic-again
Iranian Report Claims U.S. Spy Plane Shot Down Over Nuclear Site
A state-run website in Iran says the country’s Revolutionary Guards have shot down an unmanned U.S. spy plane over the city of Qom near the Fordu nuclear site.
The claim comes a day after Iran confirmed it was installing a new generation of advanced uranium-enrichment centrifuges at the facility. T
The report by the “Youth Journalists Club,” which is affiliated with Iran’s state television, quoted member of parliament Ali Aghazadeh Dafsari as saying that the plane was trying to gather information about the uranium-enrichment facility.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iranian_report_claims_us_spy_plane_shot_down_over_nuclear_site/24271382.html
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Iranian Doublespeak on the Anniversary of the AMIA Bombing
Seventeen years ago this week, Hezbollah operatives working closely with Iranian intelligence blew up the Israeli-Argentine Mutual Association (AMIA) building in Buenos Aires, killing 85 people and wounding 300 more. Now, after years of obstructing investigation into the attack, Iran claims it is ready to “engage in constructive dialogue” with Argentina about the case, but insists that talk of an Iranian link is nothing more than “plots and political games.”
In fact, it is Iran that is playing games.
Argentinean authorities conducted an extensive investigation into the AMIA attack, with significant international cooperation, and concluded that “the decision to carry out the AMIA attack was made, and the attack was orchestrated, by the highest officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the time, and that these officials instructed Lebanese Hezbollah — a group that has historically been subordinated to the economic and political interests of the Tehran regime — to carry out the attack.”
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC06.php?CID=1680
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US Denies Losing Drone in Iran.
The U.S. has denied an Iranian report that the country’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S. drone (unmanned spy plane).
Intelligence and military officials told VOA on Wednesday that the U.S. rejects the claim and has not lost a drone.
An Iranian lawmaker said the country’s elite military group downed the U.S. spy plane as it was attempting to collect information about an underground uranium enrichment site.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/iran/US-Denies-Losing-Drone-in-Iran-125888453.html
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New Iran public execution video highlights ‘brutal’ death penalty
Graphic new video footage of a public hanging in Iran this week highlights the brutalisation of both the condemned and those who watch executions, Amnesty International said today.
The video provided to Amnesty International was shot on 19 July, and shows the execution by hanging of three men in Azadi Square in the city of Kermanshah. The men had been convicted of rape.
The three men are shown standing on top of buses as guards drape ropes fixed to a bridge overhead around their necks, before a crowd of onlookers including children.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/new-iran-public-execution-video-highlights-%E2%80%98brutal%E2%80%99-death-penalty-2011-07-21
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Iran’s former president says people entitled to open elections
Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami has reiterated his insistence on open political space for political parties, the release of political prisoners and a commitment to the constitution -all to ensure that all Iranians are full participants in the next parliamentary elections.
Khatami told a meeting of the Shiraz University Students Association: “Elections are our right, and no one has the right to take free elections away from us and monopolize them for a certain group, just because we have our objections.”
Insisting that freedom is based on open elections, he added: “They need to open up the political space; universities and societies must set up Q & A sessions, political parties and groups should be allowed to become openly active; they should have representatives and candidates; the provisions of the constitution should be adhered to, while house arrests and incarcerations should end so that everybody can participate in the elections.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1196.html
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Iranian Nuclear Scientist ‘Shot Dead’ In Tehran
Iranian media reports say that an Iranian nuclear scientist has been shot dead in Tehran.
The reports said the man, described as a physics professor and nuclear scientist, was assassinated in front of his house.
Some reports said the man’s wife was also wounded. The Mehr news agency said the shooting was carried out by attackers on a motorcycle.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iranian_nuclear_scientist_shot_dead_in_tehran/24274708.html
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Family Of Dead Iranian Prisoner Complains To Judiciary Head
The family of journalist Reza Hoda Saber, who died of a heart attack last month while on a hunger strike in Iran’s Evin prison, has complained to judiciary head Mohammad Sadegh Larijani about the circumstances of his death, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
The complaints were made in a letter to Larijani that was published on the Kalameh website on July 21.
Saber’s sister, Firouzeh Saber, told Radio Farda that the letter raises three questions: “Firstly, why was there a six-hour delay in transferring Hoda from the prison clinic to a hospital, which ultimately caused his death? Secondly, why wasn’t the family informed when he was transferred to Modarres Hospital and we, like everyone else, learned of his death from the Internet? Lastly, why was he assaulted after he was transferred to the Evin Branch 350 clinic due to his heart condition?”
http://www.rferl.org/content/family_of_dead_iranian_prisoner_complains_to_judiciary_head/24274426.html
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Survivor of Attack Leads Nuclear Effort in Iran
Eight months after he narrowly survived an assassination attempt on the streets of Tehran, Fereydoon Abbasi, the nuclear physicist whom Iran’s mullahs have put in charge of the country’s Atomic Energy Organization, is presiding over what intelligence officials in several countries describe as an unexpected quickening of Iran’s production of nuclear material.
The selection of Dr. Abbasi earlier this year was itself a clear message to the West. As a university scientist, he was barred from traveling outside Iran by the United Nations Security Council because of evidence that his main focus was on how to build nuclear weapons, rather than power plants. But in recent weeks he has publicly declared that his country is preparing to triple its production of a type of nuclear fuel that moves it far closer to the ability to produce bomb-grade material in a hurry.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/23/world/middleeast/23iran.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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Iran: Elite Force Commander Is Killed.
A commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards was killed in an explosion during clashes with Kurdish rebels in northwestern Iran, the Guards said in a statement on Friday. It identified the victim as Gen. Abbas Asemi, a commander in Qom Province, southwest of Tehran. It said a car blew up in northwestern Iran, but did not say when the attack took place. The rebels were from PJAK, the Free Life Party of Kurdistan, an Iranian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party that took up arms in 1984 to fight for the creation of an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/23/world/middleeast/23briefs-Iran.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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IRGC denies shooting down U.S. drone
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has denied reports that Iranian military forces have shot down a U.S. spy drone near the Fordo nuclear facility, the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) reports.
IRGC public relations announced yesterday that it had targeted a test plane in the Province of Qom and not a U.S. spy plane, as earlier reported by some media. The statement emphasized the U.S. drones are not capable of penetrating Iran’s air space. It added that military news can only be corroborated through military sources.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/irgc-denies-shooting-down-us-drone
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Khamenei Steps In to Rescue Economy
On July 19 Iran’s highest authority, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, published a “General Employment Policy” consisting of 13 goals or strategies to improve employment in Iran. The plan was an indirect but telling acknowledgement of Iran’s massive unemployment problem–it follows just a week after statements by Khamenei to Iran’s Chamber of Commerce in which the Supreme Leader urged economic optimism and restraint in publishing discouraging items regarding the economy. The statement was published to virtually every state-owned or affiliated news agency in Farsi, as well as the the Supreme Leader’s website.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1224.html
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Lawyers Persecuted In Iran
In Iran, attorneys who defend political dissidents and who strive to uphold the rule of law are being targeted by the regime. Their ability to practice their profession is being hobbled by imprisonment, lengthy government bans, and exile.
One of the most prominent still in Iran is Nasrin Sotoudeh, lawyer for Nobel laureate and exiled Iranian attorney Shirin Ebadi and other Iranian human rights activists. Ms. Sotoudeh was sentenced in January to 11 years in prison, a 20 year ban on foreign travel, and a 20 year ban on practicing law.
A similarly harsh sentence of 10 years in jail and a ban on teaching was recently meted out to Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, attorney and co-founder of the Center for Human Rights Defenders. Mr. Dadkhah is the lawyer for Christian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, who has been sentenced to death on the charge of apostasy.
The lawyer for another Iranian sentenced to death — this time by stoning – has also been imprisoned. Attorney Javid Houtan Kiyan took up the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman who was convicted of adultery in dubious legal proceedings. He assumed the case after her first lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, was forced to flee Iran after Ms. Ashtiani’s plight garnered international attention. Mr. Kiyan was arrested in October 2010, and remains in detention. There are credible reports he has been severely tortured.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1226.html
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Not knowing if anybody was reading this topic, because I´ve never seen any comment here:
Strange Sex Stories from the Muslim World
Die Tierliebe der Taliban:
http://www.steinhoefel.de/blog/2011/05/die-tierliebe-der-taliban.html
Im jeden fal 2 leser sind dar LOL
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Slain Man Not Nuclear Scientist
Aber Israel und die Amerikaner haban es gemacht. LOL
Iranian authorities now say the victim of a deadly shooting in Tehran was a university student — not a physicist involved in Iran’s nuclear program, as initially reported by state-run media.
English-language Iranian Press TV said a mix-up over the victim’s name apparently led to the confusion.
Despite that report, parliament speaker Ali Larijani blamed the death of an Iranian scientist on the United States and Israel, condemning it as a “terrorist action” in remarks broadcast on national television on July 24.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_nuclear/24274708.html
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Iran’s attacks on dissident group claim civilian lives
Iran’s shelling in the Iraqi border region has killed or wounded five civilians in the Sidkan.
Ahmad Ghader Soor, the Sidkan Prefect, told Radio Zamaneh that two local residents were killed yesterday and three more were injured by Islamic Republic artillery attacks.
The Prefect also indicated that ranchers and farmers in the region have sustained great losses as a result of the attacks.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) forces began shelling the Iraqi Kurdistan border regions more than three weeks ago. Iran calls it a retaliation against PJAK, the dissident Kurdish group that is now based in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/irans-attacks-dissident-group-claim-civilian-lives
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Iranian Activists Decry Violence Against Women Amid Reported Gang Rapes
More than 500 Iranian women’s rights activists and their supporters have issued a statement calling on authorities to put an end to “systematic violence against women” as the sixth gang rape in recent months was reported, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
The statement says the gang rapes “represent the height of misogyny and irresponsibility [on the part] of the military, security, and judicial authorities in Iran.” It urges those bodies to be “concerned about women’s lives and safety, instead of the strands of their hair” that may be visible despite their veils.
According to the website Jam-e jam, the official organ of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, six men abducted a woman in the town of Malard, west of Tehran, on July 22. They are alleged to have robbed and then gang-raped her.
Asieh Amini, a Norway-based activist and signatory to the statement, told RFE/RL on June 23 that violence had not only become rooted in Iran’s social hierarchy, but is also reinforced by the regime’s policies.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_activists_decry_violence_against_women/24277768.html
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US military officials in Iraq warn of growing Iranian threat
American military officials say the upcoming US withdrawal has emboldened Iranian-backed militias, which they blame for recent deadly attacks and allege are stockpiling weapons.
As the clock ticks toward full US military withdrawal from Iraq, American officials who want troops to stay longer continue to warn of a growing Iranian threat.
Some argue that the diminishing US presence is turning Iraq into an even-more contentious regional battlefield, giving rise to a low-grade war between the remaining American forces and what the US says are militias tied directly to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose rule is dependent on Iraqi parties with ties to Iran, appears unable or unwilling to crack down on the most lethal Iranian-back militias, blamed for June attacks that killed the largest number of American forces in two years.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0727/US-military-officials-in-Iraq-warn-of-growing-Iranian-threat?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fcsm+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+%7C+All+Stories%29
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Iran’s Proxy War in Syria Is Shoring Up Assad
If the current trajectory of Syrian street protests continue at their current, bloody pace, last Friday (July 22) may be remembered as the epic day Syria’s Assad dictatorial dynasty began a fateful, accelerating process of unraveling.
Finally, after over four months of country-wide protests, every major Syrian city witnessed massive simultaneous demonstrations against the regime. From Aleppo in the north to the capital Damascus, hundreds of thousands of Syrian citizens defied the live fire aimed at them by Assad’s security forces chanting the newly-minted forbidden revolutionary anthem “Come On Bashar, Leave!”
Hey Bashar, hey liar. Damn you and your speech,
Freedom is right at the door. So common on, Bashar, Leave!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amb-marc-ginsberg/irans-proxy-war-in-syria_b_911218.html
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Iranian Parliament omits controversial family law bill
Parliament has once again delayed consideration of a controversial bill to amend the Family Protection Act, which would give Iranian men the right to multiple marriages without first proving adequate financial resources.
The Khaneh Mellat website cites MP Moussa Ghorbani as saying that the 23rd amendment to the Family Protection Act has been omitted from the parliamentary agenda and will be considered at a later date.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iranian-parliament-omits-controversial-family-law-bill
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Iranian Parliament examines rising national crime rates
Some of Iran’s most powerful officials are blaming foreign elements and the media for a rising crime rate and a lack of public safety.
The parliamentary website Khaneh Mellat reports that Parliament today reviewed the subject of “social safety and dealing with criminals” in the presence of the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Justice, the Prosecutor General and the head of Security Forces.
The session comes after recent weeks saw a significant increase in the reporting of serious crimes such as assault, rape, gang rape and murder.
Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam, the head of the police force, said: “In our region, the presence of [global] superpowers and their agents who promote crimes such as drug-dealing, sex and violence are factors in the rising crime rates.”
He cited the post-election protests of 2009 as another factor.
Following the 2009 presidential elections, numerous mass demonstrations were triggered by allegations that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory was achieved through vote fraud. The authorities arrested thousands of protesters in order to quell the unrest.
Ahmadi Moghaddam insisted that “weakening the authority of the police leads to insecurity in society.”
He said the murder rate has risen in recent years, adding that murders within families have also become more common.
However, he claimed that despite the rise in murder rates, they are still lower than those in most developed countries.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iranian-parliament-examines-rising-national-crime-rates
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http://barenakedislam.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/somali-muslim-radicals-ban-samosas-in-a-country-that-is-suffering-extreme-famine/
http://barenakedislam.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/iranian-american-ex-muslim-rails-against-the-left-wing-medias-islam-deception/
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/07/egypt-muslims-attack-christians-over-the-installation-of-a-church-bell.html
http://dcxposed.com/2011/07/28/terrorist-camps-in-usa/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2019547/Islamic-extremists-set-Sharia-law-zones-British-cities.html
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2011/07/mumbai-vs-oslo.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2019157/Sheikh-Raed-Salah-Hate-preacher-banned-UK-using-human-rights-law-stay.html
http://thewestislamandsharia.blogspot.com/2011/07/5-biggest-lies-told-about-oslo-shooter.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/27/iran-revolutionary-guards-opec-rostam-ghasemi
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=231302
http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2011/07/27/third-iranian-nuclear-scientist-shot-dead
http://www.hudson-ny.org/2294/argentina-iran-nuclear-cooperation
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=231274
BREAKING NEWS:
US serviceman [MUSLIM] held amid ‘plot’ to attack Fort Hood
More about Ft. Hood:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/flashback-muslim-ft-hood-suspect-said-religion-forbade-him-from-fighting-islamicly-unjust-war/
several links:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3718672/Two-German-Islamic-converts-were-caught-with-bomb-making-instructions-gun-manuals-and-jihad-magazines-as-they-entered-Britain-court-hears.html?OTC-RSS&ATTR=News
In eigener Sache:
My dear fellow counter jihad friends, I have a little request: There´s a little dumbass Muzzie here in my area, who has created a group that´s called “Islam is the true religion in Germany”. It is an open group. I´d like to ask everybody to post videos, comments and quotes that prove that Islam is NOT a religion! Apreciate it! Tanks in advance! Here´s the link to the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/187588194623533/
I´ve forgotten to mention, that he´s adding everybody to this group who´s in his friendlist, or his who´s visible to him through his friend´s lists.
Danke sehr Calvin.
Ich habe welche links durch geschikt zu anderen Niederlandische sites.
Iranian prisons are like hotels: Shamghadari
Beter eerst maar eens wat onderzoek doen meneer Shamghadari, of er een paar weken gaan zitten nadat je tegen het regime geprotesteerd hebt, maar dat niet zo snel gebeuren met een roeptoeter en usefull idiot als hij.
Javad Shamghadari, the deputy chief of cinema at Iran’s Ministry of Culture, has said that contrary to reports, the conditions at Iranian prisons are actually very good. ILNA cited Shamghadari saying: “I hope our journalist friends visit Evin Prison so they can see Evin is exactly like a hotel and in very good condition.”
Other Iranian officials have spoken up for Iranian prisons over the past two years. In the summer of 2009, when large numbers of protesters were being arrested all across the country, the head of prisons for Theran Province said: “Our cells are like hotel suites, and we have no solitary confinement.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1289.html
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Analysts: IRGC Commander Risky Choice For Iranian Oil Minister
Analysts say that Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s decision to name a senior revolutionary guard commander as the country’s oil minister could cause instability and further hurt its energy revenues, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Ahmadinejad on July 27 asked parliament to approve Brigadier General Rostam Qasemi, the commander of Khatam ol-Anbia, a major construction contractor and the economic arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), as head of the Oil Ministry.
But Scotland-based Iran analyst Reza Taghizadeh told Radio Farda on July 27 that Rostam Qasemi’s appointment will lead to instability within the Oil Ministry because the IRGC is a strong supporter of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has been feuding with Ahmadinejad.
http://www.rferl.org/content/analysts_irgc_commander_a_risky_choice_for_iranian_oil_minister/24280512.html
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U.S. Accuses Iran Of ‘Secret Deal’ With Al-Qaeda
The U.S. Treasury has accused Iran of supporting Al-Qaeda and slapped financial sanctions on six people it says are operatives for the terrorist organization in Pakistan, Iran, Kuwait, and Qatar.
The agency said on July 28 that Iran is a “critical transit point for funding to support Al-Qaeda’s activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan” and said it had uncovered a network that “serves as the core pipeline through which Al-Qaeda moves money, facilitators, and operatives from across the Middle East to South Asia.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/us_accuses_iran_of_secret_deal_with_al_qaeda/24280157.html
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Court releases names and pictures of Hariri’s alleged killers
The United Nations-backed international tribunal set up to bring to justice those responsible for the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and others on Friday published the identities, photographs, and background information of four suspects named in the indictment, issued on June 28.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon splashed photographs and detailed information on its website about the personal history of the four suspects — identified as Salim Jamil Ayyash, Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra.
The men range in age from 36 to 50. The published information includes the names of their parents, their passport and social security numbers, and their last known addresses.
Among listed charges against them are conspiracy to commit a terrorist act and being an accomplice to the felony of premeditated homicide by using explosive materials.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/07/lebanon-hezbollah-murder-rafik-hariri-investigation-names-suspects-iran-syria-international-tribunal.html
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2 US Hikers Face Iranian Court Date on Spy Charges
The families of two Americans imprisoned in Iran for nearly two years say they’re counting on a court hearing Sunday to end their ordeal at last.
Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, are due for what Iranian authorities have said will be a final hearing in their protracted espionage case. It’s scheduled two years to the day after they were arrested along with another American, Sarah Shourd, during a hike on the Iraq-Iran border. Shourd was released last September.
Bauer’s mother, Cindy Hickey of Pine City, Minn., said she’ll be up all night praying.
“As a mother I’m always holding out hope, but it’s been two years. … It’s time for this to be heard in court and for a release to be made,” Hickey said, adding that she’s heard “some really positive comments coming out of Tehran” that give her hope.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=14182525
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29 juli 2011 om 19:18
The idea that Iran and Al Qaida don’t get along, and other myths
In the long history of terrorist violence sponsored by Iran, its wide range of proxies and partners is often overlooked.
The IRGC, and its Hizbullah client, are the two organizations normally discussed. Yet beyond these, Iran has worked closely with PIJ and Hamas in the Middle East and in Sudan with Al Qaida, al-jamaa al-Islamiyya, the Abu Nidal Organization, and others operating in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Pakistan.
One of the myths of modern Islamist terrorism is that Sunni and Shia do not get along; but when it comes to common enemies or objectives, they work quite frequently.
In the early 1980s Sudan had become the second country in the world after Iran, to be ruled by extremist Islamists. Its spiritual leader was Hassan al-Turabi. The government itself was controlled by General Omar al-Bashir who led a military coup in 1989 and has been President since 1993.
Iran hastened to offer oil and development aid to the new regime in Khartoum, ostensibly without demanding anything in return. In October 1990, diplomatic relations between Sudan and Iran were raised to the ambassadorial level, Ali-Akbar Mohtashemi-Pour was named Iran’s ambassador to Sudan. On Oct. 18,1991, an international conference in support of the Palestinians opened in Teheran, with over four hundred delegates from sixty countries attending. One of them was Dr. al-Turabi who was treated with great deal of respect. Upon his return to Sudan he worked assiduously to boost the operational capabilities of the Islamic guerrilla and terror movements based there, with Iranian aid.
Sudan very quickly became a satellite of the clerics and the IRGC and according to a U.S. congressional report, a distribution center for Iranian weapons for extremist Islamic Organizations. The government of al-Turabi and al-Bashir provided a refuge for members of a wide variety of groups: the Abu Nidal, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Algerian FIS Movement, the Tunisian Al-Nahda and the Al Qaida Network. The IRGC provided their training, under the supervision of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security, VEVAK.
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2011/me_iran0945_07_29.asp
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Iranian Activist Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Refusing to Make False Confessions
Atieh Taheri, wife of Azerbaijani journalist and civil activist Saeed Matinpour, spoke with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran in an interview about her husband’s health condition and situation in Evin Prison.
Matinpour, 36, studied philosophy at Tehran University and wrote for Zanjan Weekly. He was active in human rights and ethnic minority rights causes and was arrested on 25 May 2007 for participating in a seminar in defense of Turkish-speaking citizens in Turkey. He was sentenced to eight years in prison by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided by Judge Salavati, on charges of “contact with foreigners,” and “propagating against the regime.” Describing Matinpour’s situation, Taheri said:
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1292.html
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Henk, het wordt zo langzamerhand tijd om wat reclame voor al je werk hier te gaan maken.
Ben nu met vakantie, maar zal m´n best gaan doen zodra ik terug ben!
Merci Bert zou goed zijn dat de aandacht toch een beetje bij die regio blijft.
Veel mensen hebben nog niet begrepen dat op dit moment de wereldpolitiek word gemaakt in die hoek en dat is een linke zaak.
U.S. sees dramatic drop in Iran-backed attacks in Iraq
Attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq by Iran-backed militia have fallen sharply thanks to U.S. and Iraqi military operations and diplomatic engagement with Tehran by Baghdad, top U.S. military officials said Monday.
The upbeat assessment signals a shift from only three weeks ago when visiting Defense Secretary Leon Panetta strongly urged Baghdad to do more against Shi’ite Muslim militias responsible for making June the deadliest month for U.S. forces in Iraq since 2008.
He warned that the United States would take unilateral action if necessary.
Admiral Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military officer, credited U.S. and Iraqi actions as he arrived on an unannounced visit to Iraq, possibly his last before stepping down as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the end of September.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/01/us-iraq-usa-attacks-idUSTRE7704NN20110801?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
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Verdict For 2 Americans In Iran Within Week
The lawyer for two Americans jailed in Iran on charges of espionage said Sunday the court will announce its verdict within a week, dashing hopes for their immediate release after a final hearing in the case.
Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, have been held in Iran’s Evin Prison since shortly after their arrest along the border with Iraq exactly two years ago on Sunday. The case has added to tensions between the United States and Iran that were already high over issues like Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.
The Americans’ lawyer, Masoud Shafiei, had hoped that Sunday’s final court session would result in their immediate release because it coincided with the two-year anniversary of their arrest and came near the start this week of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, when pardons are traditionally handed down.
http://www.npr.org/2011/07/31/138869725/verdict-for-2-americans-in-iran-within-week?ft=1%26f=1009
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Iranian Woman Spares Attacker Acid Punishment
An Iranian woman who was blinded and badly disfigured in an acid attack has stopped a retributive blinding sentence from being carried out on her attacker at the last moment.
“He was standing in the hospital operating room and the doctor was about to put acid in his eyes. It was that moment when I said, ‘No, I don’t want this,’” Ameneh Bahrami told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda.
The sentence of “retribution in kind” called for five drops of sulfuric acid to be put in each of Majid Movahedi’s eyes for the 2004 incident, when the spurned suitor poured a bucket of acid on Bahrami, ultimately leaving her blind and forcing her to undergo at least 17 operations.
But as the acid was about to be applied by a doctor in a live broadcast on Iranian state television, Bahrami forgave her attacker and spared him the punishment.
“The Koran gives you the right to retribution,” Bahrami told RFE/RL. “But this very Koran also encourages you to pardon, since pardoning is one of the highest moral standards.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/iranian_woman_spares_attacker_acid_in_eyes/24283843.html
Baha’is Arrested In Several Iranian Cities
Iranian state media have reported the arrests of an unspecified number of Baha’is in cities across the country, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Arrests were reported in Tehran, Karaj, Esfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad, Yasouj, and Larestan.
The state Fars News Agency reported on July 31 that the arrested Baha’is belonged to an “international corruption network” engaged in “promoting and propagandizing the Baha’i cult through sex appeal and homosexuality.”
The names of the arrested Baha’is were not made public.
Abdolkarim Lahiji, vice president of the Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, told RFE/RL the Iranian regime has brought new charges against the Baha’i followers in order to justify its persecution of them.
http://www.rferl.org/content/bahai_arrests_several_iran_cities/24284790.html
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Is the Israeli Air Force Agitating for an Iran Attack?
The targeted strikes have been one component of a wider effort against Iran’s atomic activities that also included last year’s computer-based strike with the Stuxnet malware, Israeli intelligence insiders said.
Elements of the Israeli armed forces — particularly commanders in the country’s air force — consider such clandestine activities insufficient and have advocated increasingly for airstrikes against Iranian targets, the first Israeli source said. The adequacy of targeted killings as a means of slowing Iran’s nuclear advancement has proven controversial, Haaretz has reported.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/08/is-the-israeli-air-force-agitating-for-an-iran-attack/242970/
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Drawing the Line on Iranian Enrichment
How much Iranian nuclear capability is too much? The simplest answer is that any amount is unacceptable. By learning how to enrich uranium, Iran has given itself the potential to eventually produce enough weapons-grade material for one or more atomic bombs. That risk can only be removed if all Iranian enrichment programmes are eliminated. This belief has long been a mainstay of U.S. rhetoric, if not policy, towards Iran.
But it is far from clear that zero enrichment is a realistic goal. Indeed, despite recent setbacks, Iran’s leaders appear determined to continue improving and expanding Iran’s enrichment programme; they may even have already decided to eventually build a bomb. The important question, then, is how much Iranian nuclear capability is too much, given the limited (and often costly) options available for curbing Iran.
http://www.cfr.org/iran/drawing-line-iranian-enrichment/p25573?cid=rss-iran-drawing_the_line_on_iranian_en-080211&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+region%2Firan+%28CFR.org+-+Regions+-+Iran%29
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The Enemy of Iran’s Enemy
Despite the alarmist headlines, no one should have been shocked by last week’s U.S. Treasury Department designation of a Syrian based in Iran as a conduit for sending money and personnel to al Qaeda.
Iran has had links to members of what became known as al Qaeda since the early 1990s, when both had a presence in Sudan. What many may not know is that the United States missed several opportunities to divide the two and gain custody of senior al Qaeda figures and relatives of Osama bin Laden.
Al Qaeda, with its militant Sunni ideology that despises Shiites as worse than apostates, is hardly a natural ally for the world’s only Shiite theocracy. Iranian officials indignantly denied the Treasury Department’s allegations; one official, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that Iran opposes al Qaeda adherents in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Iran’s leaders, however, share al Qaeda’s hatred of the United States and Israel, and both have a long history of grievances against the West.
Their tactical ties were forged in Khartoum, when the Sudanese capital was a virtual resort for Islamist militants and agents of rogue states, including bin Laden; members of Hezbollah, Iran’s Lebanese protégé; and Iran’s Quds Force, the external arm of the Revolutionary Guards. According to the 9/11 Commission, in the 1990s the Iranians and al Qaeda reached an “informal agreement to cooperate in providing support — even if only training — for actions carried out primarily against Israel and the United States. Not long afterward, senior al Qaeda operatives and trainers traveled to Iran to receive training in explosives.”
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/08/01/the_enemy_of_irans_enemy?page=full
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To Punish Iran, Seize Its Embassy
LAST week, the Treasury Department accused the Iranian government of aiding Al Qaeda and blacklisted six Qaeda operatives for funneling money through Iran. Although Treasury’s announcement, coupled with existing sanctions, has put some pressure on Tehran, much more can be done. Indeed, the White House should take action in its own backyard.
In February, the Obama administration embarked on a real estate project that directly impacts Iran’s interests in the United States. The State Department began refurbishing Iran’s Washington embassy on Massachusetts Avenue, 31 years after the last Iranian diplomat set foot in it. While the government has thus far respected and protected Iran’s property rights and permitted Iranian officials an unparalleled level of freedom, Washington should now seize outright all Iranian assets in the United States and bar as many Iranian officials as possible from our soil.
Tehran remains the legal owner of several buildings in Washington, although the United States government has taken them over. The State Department has become the legal guardian of the embassy and three residences, renting them out and using the proceeds to maintain them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/02/opinion/to-punish-iran-seize-its-embassy.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
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Israel Will Bomb Iranian Nuclear Sites Next Month, Ex-CIA Agent Predicts
Huffington Post.????
Robert Baer, a former CIA agent in the Middle East, predicted on a radio show today that Israel will bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities next month, before the Palestinians go to the United Nations for statehood recognition.
MJ Rosenberg of the Huffington Post writes that Baer “didn’t name sources for his prediction of an Israeli attack, but the few he did cite are all Israeli security figures” who have come out against such an attack, like former Mossad chief Meir Dagan, who has warned that an Israeli attack on Iran is both imminent and “stupid.”
Baer—whose memoir was the basis of the 2005 film Syriana, starring George Clooney—says that an Israeli attack on Iran would drag the United States into a massive, costly war in the Middle East. And the U.S. military, he alleged, is not opposed.
http://www.businessinsider.com/israel-will-bomb-iranian-nuclear-sites-next-month-ex-cia-agent-predictss-2011-8
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Tehran Prosecutor’s Illegal Actions Against Political Prisoners Should be Stopped
Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, has turned the absolute legal rights of Iranian political prisoners, imprisoned journalists, and prisoners of conscience into special privileges that can only be granted a prisoner upon Mr. Dolatabadi’s decision. In order to use these absolute and legal rights, families of political prisoners have to pursue them vigorously and to pass many administrative and bureaucratic hurdles in order to secure the Prosecutor’s permission. This is because Mr. Prosecutor has sacrificed the prisoners’ rights in favor of his partisan interpretations of the laws.
For example, journalist Bahman Ahmadi Amouee, a prisoner of conscience currently at Evin Prison, has not been granted an in-person visit with his family during the past year. The Prosecutor has not agreed to his in-person visit with his family, and he has only been able to visit with them through a booth. Regular prisoners such as drug traffickers are routinely granted in-person visits, while Bahman Amouee has been deprived of them. The law has not stipulated any exceptions to this right for political prisoners, journalists, or prisoners of conscience.
Written requests to the Prosecutor for permission to have in-person visits, a procedure unspecified by the law, is one of the procedures currently in place that have created a long backlog, addressed on a per-case basis by the Prosecutor, where he applies his personal taste and preference in the process. Over the past year, the Prosecutor’s personal taste and preference has not been in favor of Bahman Ahmadi Amouee’s case, according to his family. Amouee remains in a difficult situation inside prison where he is deprived of his most basic rights, including permission to make phone calls.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/aug/1017.html
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Iran, Where A Water Fight Can Land You In Prison
Endlich ist man angefangen mit die richtig schweren criminellen an zu greifen in Iran
Hoffendlich keine recidivisten sonst komt die staatssicherheit im gefahr.
Yet again, a number of young people have been arrested in the Iranian capital.
Their crime: engaging in a water fight.
The evidence: water guns and bottles.
The accusations against them: violating Islamic principles and norms.
It sounds absurd, but sadly it’s the reality in the Islamic Republic of Iran where, among other things, having a bit of fun can also land one in prison.
The young women and men had gathered last week in a Tehran park, ironically named the Garden of Water and Fire, and splashed water at each other.
The event, planned and organized on Facebook, had reportedly attracted around 800 people. Pictures of the event show happy girls and boys soaked with water, carrying colorful water guns.
http://www.rferl.org/content/persian_letters_water_fight_can_land_you_in_prison/24285467.html
Report: Iranian Minister Supports Release Of Jailed U.S. Citizens
Iran’s Fars news agency quotes Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi as saying he hopes the trial of two U.S. citizens jailed in Iran on spying charges “will proceed in a manner that will result in their freedom.”
Officials say a verdict from the trial of U.S. citizens Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal, and Sarah Shourd, arrested near the Iran-Iraq border two years ago, will be announced soon.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_american_hikers_trial_spying/24288671.html
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Turkey Says Intercepts Arms Shipment From Iran To Syria
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has confirmed that government authorities have intercepted an arms shipment from Iran to Syria, state-run Anatolian news agency said.
Asked about a report that a truck containing weapons had been intercepted by Turkish authorities, Davutoglu said: “We have this information and the necessary investigations are being made. … I will give detailed information when necessary.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/turkey_syria_iran_arms_shipment/24288517.html
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Iranian Academic Charged As ‘Enemy Of God’ Brands Court Illegal
A former chancellor of Tehran University charged with waging war against God has told the court hearing his case that it is illegal, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Mohammad Maleki, who is accused of undermining Iran’s Islamic system, was summoned to Tehran’s Revolutionary Court over the weekend.
Maleki told Radio Farda on August 3 that at first he refused to appear in court because he considers the sentences the court hands down unlawful. He wrote to Judge Moghiseh of the 28th branch of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court to explain that decision, but Moghiseh rejected his explanation.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_academic_charged_as_enemy_of_god_brands_court_illegal/24286612.html
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Green Movement Council warns Iran regime, sides with Syrian protesters
The Coordinating Council of the Green Path of Hope, the Green Movement’s highest decision making body, has issued a statement in solidarity with pro-democracy protesters in Syria, while calling on Iranian authorities to cease their support for the Assad regime’s deadly suppression of dissenters.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, since the start of demonstrations in the country, the regime has sought to quell the protests with brutal force, killing around 1,650 civilians and imprisoning thousands of protesters.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has already confirmed that Turkish authorities have intercepted an arms shipment from Iran to Syria, according to state-run Anatolian news agency.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/aug/06/3231?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+irangreenvoice%2FEn+%28Iran+Green+Voice+-+English%29
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Iranian students to take on oppressive regime through water gun fights
Iranian students have resorted to water gun fights to protest against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s oppressive regime.
The large-scale water fight organized by students at Abo Atash Park in Tehran had led to a crackdown by the authorities and culminated in several arrests.
However, the students, unfazed by regime threats, are once again geared to take on the regime by organizing another water fight on September 2.
Facebook event ‘Tehran’s Water Gun Fight’ has been instrumental in spreading the word of protest.
An Iran Solidarity movement activist Milani has aided the creation of an English version of the Water Gun Fight Facebook page to link and unite the rest of the world to Tehran.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/iranian-students-oppressive-regime-water-gun-fights-075502684.html
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Ahmadinejad gives interview on opposition, recent disputes
In an interview with euronews network, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad described the Iranian judiciary as an independent organ free of political interference, adding that opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have their issues with the judiciary.
Last night, in an interview with John Davis in the English section of the euronews, Ahmadinejad said recent uprisings in the region are completely different from the Iranian protests that followed his re-election in 2009. Ahmadinejad’s re-election was marred by allegations of vote fraud, which triggered widespread protests that were violently suppressed by the government.
Ahmadinejad insisted that Iranian elections are completely free and open but “attacking buildings, people and cars is prohibited in any country.”
Ahmadinejad addressed the issue of free speech for the opposition, including opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who have been under house arrest since last February and cut off from the outside world. “They have their issues with the judiciary,” Ahmadinejad said. “The judiciary is independent, and I do not have the right to interfere in the workings of the judges.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/aug/1046.html
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Turkey Says Farewell To The Generals
There was a time when to be a senior commander in Turkey’s military was to be above all else in a state forged and shaped, after all, by a soldier, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
But no longer. If Ataturk is still exalted — at least officially — the stock of his modern-day comrades-in-arms has fallen dramatically.
The impotence of the army — an institution that once made and broke Turkish governments — was amply demonstrated on July 29 when its four top commanders, including the chief of staff, General Isik Kosaner, resigned in protest at the detention of 250 fellow officers accused of plotting to topple the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Kosaner, who quit along with the heads of the ground, naval, and air forces, expressed his feelings of powerlessness in his resignation statement. “It has become impossible for me to continue in this high office because I am unable to fulfill my responsibility to protect the rights of my personnel as the chief of general staff,” he said.
At the heart of Kosaner’s anguish is the continued presence of 173 serving and 77 retired military personnel in jail, mostly on charges of trying to overthrow Erdogan’s socially conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in a coup, known as Operation Sledgehammer.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/aug/1043.html
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Daughter of former reformist lawmaker murdered
The murder of Fatemeh Bagherinejadianfard, the daughter of a former reformist MP, has caused a stir in Iranian Parliament, with MPs calling for an immediate inquest.
The daughter of a former Kazeroon MP was kidnapped in Tehran last week, and 24 hours later her body was found near Shahr-e Rey, the Aftab news website reports.
One hundred MPs have signed a petition to urge immediate action in finding her kidnappers and murderers.
In the controversial 2009 presidential elections, Mohammadbagher Bagherinajadianfard supported MirHosein Mousavi, the opposition leader who is now under house arrest. Fatemeh Bagherinejadianfard also participated in the street demonstrations sparked by allegations of fraud in the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/daughter-former-reformist-lawmaker-murdered
Baha’is In Iran ‘Summoned’ To Intelligence Ministry
Dozens of Baha’is in cities across Iran are reported to have been summoned to the Intelligence Ministry in recent weeks because of their activities in the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE), RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Diane Ala’i, the community’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva, told Radio Farda that some of the Baha’is were interrogated and some detained for having helped Baha’i students who wanted to pursue their higher education.
http://www.rferl.org/content/bahais_in_iran_summoned_to_intelligence_ministry/24291867.html
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Iran Knows How To End The Violence In London
Following three days of riots in London, Iranian lawmaker Hossein Ebrahimi has told the semi-official Fars news agency that parliament is ready to send a human rights delegation to Britain to investigate human rights abuses, while Iran’s Foreign Ministry has called on the U.K. government to listen to the demands of the protesters.
“We ask the government of England and those in charge of the [U.K.] Embassy in Tehran to pave the way for the presence of human rights [experts] in that country without making false excuses,” Ebrahimi said.
Ebrahimi, who is the deputy chairman of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, added that Iranian human rights investigators want to speak to Britain’s “political prisoners” and prepare a report about the treatment of “protesters” for international organizations.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast, meanwhile, urged the British government to order the police to stop their violent confrontation with the protesters and begin a dialogue to calm the situation.
This from Tehran, where force was used to end peaceful opposition protests in 2009 and a crackdown on all dissenting voices continues.
http://www.rferl.org/content/persian_letters_iran_knows_how_to_end_london_violence/24292021.html
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Iran News Round Up August 8, 2011
•Presidential crisis:
◦Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addresses representatives of the government’s three branches: “Such unprecedented events in the region and in the world have provided the Islamic regime with great opportunities, but if there is no realistic assessment of the conditions of the state, those opportunities may be wasted or even become threats… In the political, economic and cultural fields, there have been some weaknesses, shortcomings and problems most of which are due to not living up to responsibilities.”
http://www.irantracker.org/roundup/iran-news-round-august-8-2011
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Iran News Round Up August 9, 2011
Politics
•Newly appointed Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi selects Amir-Hamed Sohrabi his chief of staff.
•Rafsanjani addresses the employees of the Expediency Council while breaking the fast:
◦”This month [of Ramadan] is a good opportunity for us. If we have committed mistakes, we should correct it… Recognizing mistakes and faults is something from which no class and group is exempted, especially those who have public responsibilities. In case they have committed mistakes and faults… they should consider the path of correcting themselves.”
http://www.irantracker.org/roundup/iran-news-round-august-9-2011
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Jailed Iranian Journalists Sound ‘Tyranny’ Alarm Bell
Fourteen jailed journalists are warning the Iranian public of grave societal danger, saying the house arrest of the opposition leaders and their wives is an frightful indication of what’s to come.
In a statement published yesterday, the journalists called attention to “the oppressive force hanging heavily over Iranian society and pushing it toward all-out tyranny.” They were referring to the detention of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi and their wives Zahra Rahnavard and Fatemeh Karroubi, and the forced closure of prominent Green Movement newspapers Etemad-e Melli (National Trust) and Kaleme Sabz (Green Word).
The statement, published yesterday to coincide with Reporter’s Day in Iran, is signed by journalists jailed in Evin and Rejaishahr Prisons: Alireza Beheshti Shirazi, Ali Malihi, Siamak Ghaderi, Alirez Rejai, Nahmad Ahmadi Amouyi, Massoud Bastani, Massoud Lavasani, Nader Karimi Joni, Saeed Matinpour, Mohammad Sedigh Kaboodvand, Mohammd Davari, Saam Mahmouudi Sarabi, Keyvan Samimi and Issa Saharkhiz.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/aug/1092.html
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Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi: The Two Forgotten Men
Life is going on as normal in Tehran and other cities in Iran, with most residents occupied with concerns about inflation and the escalating cost of living. But aside from economic anxieties and worries over shortages of electricity and basic goods, the summer has been a time of confrontation for the Iranian people with the government’s “Outfit Police.” In western countries, the term “fashion police” is an adopted name for respected experts in fashion who have the authority to “correct” the fashion and stylistic errors of celebrities and other folks. But in the Islamic Republic, the fashion police is the exact opposite; they must “correct” residents if they are fashionable, and they do so by force, with minibuses available to take any offenders away to detention.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/camelia-entekhabifard/mir-hossein-mousavi-and-m_b_920388.html
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Increased jail term for journalist “mark of leader’s personal vendetta”
The son of jailed journalist Issa Saharkhiz has spoken out publicly against his father’s treatment by the judiciary and aimed a warning directly at Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
Mehdi Saharkhiz’s statements to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran come three days after his father’s sentence was increased by two years.
“I want to personally tell Mr. Khamenei that he should learn from the fate of [ousted Egyptian president] Hosni Mubarak… Iranian statesmen will also reap what their actions have sown, like Saddam, Ghaddafi and Hosni Mubarak. I wish to tell them to beware their fates in this world and remember that they will not always be in power.”
Issa Saharkhiz, who was the head of domestic press in the Ministry of Culture and Guidance during the reformist administration of President Mohammad Khatami, was arrested after the controversial 2009 presidential elections
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/increased-jail-term-journalist-mark-leaders-personal-vendetta
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Hard-Line Iranian Media Demonize Western ‘Cultural Threat’
The hard-line daily newspapers “Kayhan” and “Resalat” have called for a new round of “media purification” in Iran, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
The two dailies were responding to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s characterization of the “cultural invasion” of the country’s media by the West as the “key threat” to the Islamic republic.
In the editorial “Den of Charlatans” published in “Kayhan” on August 10, Hossein Shariatmadari, the supreme leader’s representative, holds Iranian journalists responsible for the unrest that followed the controversial June 2009 presidential election.
http://www.rferl.org/content/conservative_iran_media_demonize_western_cultural_threat/24294088.html
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The dangers of secularism in the Middle East
Amid Arab Spring unrest, Western analysts tout secularism, fearing the rise of Islamists in the Middle East. But stability will come from including, rather than excluding, religious groups in politics.
Notre Dame, Ind., Washington, and Cambridge, Mass.
Since the Arab Spring began last December, Western analysts have voiced a recurrent fear: that a long era of Arab stability will be replaced not by secular democrats but by Islamic theocrats.
In Egypt, they warn, the Muslim Brotherhood will overtake the young secular activists who bravely brought down dictator Hosni Mubarak. In Syria, they have claimed, Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship may be brutal, but it is a lesser evil than a Sunni majority that will oppress Christians, Shiites, and women. Such anxiety plays perfectly into the ruling rationale of the region’s secular sultans, who have resisted popular governance with the argument that it spells theocracy.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/0811/The-dangers-of-secularism-in-the-Middle-East
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In new affront, authorities say they will bury an Iranian Baha’i as a Muslim
In an outrageous new incident of religious discrimination, authorities in the city of Tabriz, Iran, have refused to allow Baha’is to bury a relative in accordance with Baha’i law – and instead have promised to entomb the deceased woman without a coffin under Muslim rites.
“To anyone who understands the culture of the Middle East, the idea that the government would force a family to bury their loved one according to the rites of another religion is beyond the pale,” said Diane Ala’i, the representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.
She noted that according to Baha’i rites of burial, the deceased must be interred in a coffin, whereas under Muslim law, no coffin is used.
“This incident demonstrates the almost unbelievable length to which Iranian authorities are willing to go to express their prejudice and animosity against Baha’is,” she said.
The incident began on Monday when authorities in Tabriz told the family of Mrs. Fatemeh-Soltan Zaeri that they would be unable to bury her in the local cemetery according to Baha’i law. Instead, they said, she would have to be interred according to Muslim customs.
The family objected, noting that the cemetery has always been accessible to members of all religions in the area to bury their dead as they wished.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/aug/1104.html
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Khamenei won’t support Assad to the end
Hypocryte Arschloch.
Iran and Syria have long been allies, yet as if Khameni realises Assad’s situation is not salvageable, he will abandon him
For President Bashar al-Assad, the situation in Syria is becoming worse every day. In the middle of the biggest crisis his regime has faced, he has had one friend on whom he could rely: Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei has been Assad’s steadfast friend, providing him with political as well as material support. But as Assad’s position worsens, he will need to rely on Khamenei’s regime more, especially since an increasing number of Assad’s neighbours are turning against him.
First was Turkey, which used to be a close ally. Now, the Turkish government is putting pressure on Assad and warning him to stop killing demonstrators and to implement reforms as soon as possible. And then the Saudis joined in by telling Assad to stop “his killing machine” and withdrawing their ambassador. A number of other Gulf states followed suit.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/13/khamenei-support-assad
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‘Iran will do everything to stop UK’
A senior Iranian lawmaker says the Islamic Republic will spare no effort to stop the UK government’s crackdown on British protesters.
“Iran will use all of its potentials to stop the repression of the disadvantaged in the UK and [to secure] the release of political prisoners,” Fars News Agency quoted Chairwoman of the Human Rights Committee of the Iran’s Majlis (parliament) Zohreh Elahian, as saying on Saturday.
She said the UK must make the necessary preparations for Majlis human rights observers to visit the country.
Elahian also said some of the parliamentarians are to join a protest rally, which is to be held by Iranian university students in front of the British embassy in Tehran on Sunday.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/193803.html
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Iran continues to target critical journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about a rise in the number of imprisoned journalists in Iran and the continuing deterioration of their health. In recent days, Iranian authorities increased a prominent journalist’s prison term by two years and arrested a critical journalist who had just finished serving a prison sentence. Other journalists have suffered from declining health as a result of substandard conditions, extended periods in solitary confinement, and intentional abuse, according to news reports.
“Iran continues to defy its own laws as well as international legal norms by engaging in systematic neglect and abuse against journalists and the arbitrary denial of their basic rights,” said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “Authorities continue to routinely deploy punitive measures and physical violence against journalists who refuse to toe the government line.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/aug/1116.html
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Another Iranian political prisoner in critical condition
Iranian political prisoner Ghassem Sholeh Saadi is in critically poor health and is being denied medical care, opposition media report.
The Kaleme website reports that Evin Prison physicians have declared that Sholeh Saadi is not fit to serve out his sentence, but prison authorities refuse to attend to his case.
Kaleme adds: “This prisoner has not been allowed to be transferred to a hospital outside the prison and he has also been denied medical leave and he is often denied family visits.”
Sholeh Saadi,a professor at Tehran University and a former lawmaker, was arrested last April at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran while returning from Shiraz.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/aug/1113.html
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Former prisoners prepared to testify on rights violations
A number of former Iranian political prisoners have written to Ahmad Shaheed, the United Nations’ special human rights rapporteur for Iran, to say they are prepared to testify about what they’ve seen and experienced in Iranian prisons.
The signatories claim there is “widespread violation of human rights in Iran” and call on Ahmad Shaheed to closely investigate the “mistreatment” of political prisoners all across the country.
Over the past two years, after protests erupted around allegations of vote fraud in the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, thousands of Iranians have been arrested and hundreds have been sentenced to prison terms.
The letter indicates that political prisoners are subjected to inhumane treatment, especially since the 2009 election protests.
Ahmad Shaheed was appointed as the UN special rapporteur for Iran in June, and his mandate officially began on August 1. Islamic Republic authorities have condemned the United Nations’ decision and have announced that they will not allow Shaheed to enter Iran for his investigation.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/former-prisoners-prepared-testify-rights-violations
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Faezeh Hashemi to be put on trial on Sunday
Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of Expediency Council head Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, will be put on trial on Sunday August 14.
The Fars News Agency reports that Hashemi’s trial will be presided over by Judge Salavati in branch 5 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.
While her charges have not been formally announced, in May, Iran’s Prosecutor General Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said new charges were pending against Faezeh Hashemi for “insulting Islamic Republic officials.” The charges were related to her interview on the Roozonline website.
Hashemi criticized the actions of the Iranian government in that interview and said the country was being run by “hoodlums and thugs.”
Mohseni Ejei reacted by saying portions of Faezeh Hashemi’s statement could make her subject to prosecution.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/faezeh-hashemi-be-put-trial-sunday
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Iran Declines Comment On Baku’s Islamic Activist Accusations
The Iranian Embassy in Baku has declined to comment on Azerbaijani allegations that Islamic activists arrested last week had set up a radical religious group with financial support from Baku’s Cultural Center of Iran, RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service reports.
A court in Baku on August 13 remanded the three members of the banned Islamic Party of Azerbaijan in pretrial detention for two months on weapons- and drug-possession charges.
The three men — party Deputy Chairman Arif Qaniyev, party member Abgul Suleymanov, and Ramin Bayramov, editor of the news website islam-azeri.az — were arrested on August 11.
They have been charged with illegal possession of weapons and drugs, crimes that are punishable by up to three years in prison.
But according to a joint statement on August 12 by the National Security Ministry and the Prosecutor-General’s Office, they are also suspected of unspecified “hostile activity against Azerbaijan.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_declines_comment_baku_islamic_activist_accusations/24297463.html
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Humanities courses cut at Iranian university
Journalism and communication studies are among 13 undergraduate degrees which have been removed from the prospectus of one of Iran’s universities this year.
This year Allameh Tabatabayee university offers 6 undergraduate degrees in the field of humanities studies as opposed to 19 last year.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14512745
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Prospects for U.S.-Iran Diplomacy
•What are the prospects for progress this year in diplomatic efforts?
There is little chance for a major breakthrough in negotiations with Iran in 2011, or for that matter 2012. Three major obstacles will prevent this.
First, the political crisis in Iran itself, which suggests a serious struggle for power between the parliamentary conservatives and the president’s office and the parallel struggle between the president and the supreme leader.
Second, the United States will be entering an election cycle. The Republican candidates throughout the fall of 2011 and into the early months of 2012 will, with the exception of Ron Paul, be strongly opposed to any concessions to Iran. In fact, they are likely to put great pressure on President Obama to do more to confront the regime, including sanctions, isolation, and rhetoric about a military strike, (although realistically, a military strike at a time of economic crisis is a highly unlikely contingency).
http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2011/aug/15/prospects-us-iran-diplomacy
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900 Channels of the Great Satan
Humor.
For years, most Iranians have understood the United States through expat tales, condemnatory sermons about the Great Satan — and the Spider-Man films. This year, however, they have a new show called Satellite that offers an unfamiliar and bizarrely twisted portrayal of an America so tawdry that charlatans hawk their own mothers for $20 and sex-chat-room perverts aspire to political leadership of Iran. Set in an imagined Los Angeles among the city’s large Iranian diaspora, Satellite, an hourlong show that’s available on YouTube as well as on DVD in corner stores everywhere in Iran, offers a burlesque parody that is not merely shocking but also depressingly revealing about the state of establishment Iran’s once-proud attitude toward its expat community. Iran has long had its highly publicized version of the Ugly American; now, it seems, the country is embracing something else entirely: the Ugly Iranian-American.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/08/15/900_channels_of_the_great_satan
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Verdict soon on US hikers: prosecutor
Iran’s prosecutor general said yesterday that the verdict in the case of three Americans arrested two years ago on espionage charges would be issued “soon,” Mehr news agency reported. “The final verdict will be issued soon,” Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie said. When asked whether there was a possibility of pardoning the three during Ramadan, he said he had “not heard such a rumour.”
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=452943&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17
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Iran snipers in Syria as part of crackdown
Iranian snipers have been deployed in Syria as part of an increasingly brutal crackdown on protests against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, according to a former member of the regime’s secret police.
The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals, crossed the border into Turkey last week after being ordered to shoot to kill, bringing with him sickening details of increasingly desperate measures to end five months of demonstrations. He said he had beaten prisoners and fired on protesters in Damascus. At times during the past two months he was aware of Iranian troops – confirmed by senior officers – alongside his team in the Syrian capital.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/8702466/Iran-snipers-in-Syria-as-part-of-crackdown.html
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Clerical Regime Looks To Impose Control Over Iran’s Sunni Seminaries
The Shi’ite clerical regime of Iran appears to be intensifying its repression of the country’s Sunnis under the guise of “reorganizing” their seminaries.
This is being done through the full implementation of a memorandum issued in 2008 by Iran’s Supreme Cultural Revolution Council, a Qom-based conservative-dominated body whose 41 members are appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad chairs the body, although any decisions made by the council can be overruled by Khamenei.
In 2008, the council issued a memorandum titled “Bylaws of the Council for Planning Curricula of Sunni Seminaries” (CPCSS), which has 10 articles and four addendums. According to one of the articles, all Sunni seminaries must be managed by the council under the guidance of Ayatollah Khamenei’s representatives.
On June 21, Hojatoleslam Abbas Farzi, the secretary of the CPCSS, told Fars news agency that 98 percent of Sunni seminaries in the country had been reorganized, restructured, and registered. “The aim of the CPCSS is to give services to Sunni clerics…[by] evaluating their qualification, issuing appropriate certificates…and increasing their allowance from September this year,” he said.
Based on an edict of Ayatollah Khamenei, he added, “all [Sunni] seminaries, as well as maintaining their own traditions, should be equipped with up-to-date knowledge of the world.”
Prior to the formation of the CPCSS, the clerical establishment, at Khamenei’s behest, established two Grand Islamic Centers in the provinces of Kurdistan and Golestan with the aim of paving the way for “the cooperation of Sunni clerics with representatives of the supreme leader.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/aug/1137.html
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Prominent Iranians Call For Release Of Green Movement Leaders
Hundreds of Iranian political and civil activists have signed an open letter to international organizations demanding help in securing the release of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Musavi, Mehdi Karrubi, and their wives, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
The four have been under house arrest for six months, since Musavi and Karrubi called on Iranians to participate in a rally on February 14 in support of the democratic uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.
The letter, published on the opposition Kaleme website on August 16, states that “During this period, not a single person associated with the Iranian state, judiciary, or security forces has accepted responsibility for these transgressions and violations of the law [regarding the cases of Musavi and Karrubi and their wives].”
http://www.rferl.org/content/prominent_iranians_call_for_release_of_green_movement_leaders/24299622.html
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Briton Arrested for Plotting Water Fight by BlackBerry
In a demonstration of the kind of zero-tolerance policing of modern criminality that will no doubt impress Iran’s morals police as much as Egypt’s military rulers, officers outside London announced on Monday that they had arrested a man for sending text messages encouraging people to take part in a mass water fight.
According to a statement posted on the Essex police force Web site — under the headline: “Police Reassure Residents They Are Working to Keep County Safe” — a 20 year-old man, “who allegedly sent messages from a BlackBerry encouraging people to join in a water fight,” was arrested and charged under a provision of “the Serious Crime Act.” The man was released on bail, ahead of a court appearance on Sept. 1.
The police statement also explained that the force’s officers “have vowed to take a robust approach to anyone who uses social networking sites to stimulate fictitious rumors.”
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/briton-arrested-for-plotting-water-fight-by-blackberry/?partner=rss&emc=rss
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Living and Loving Underground in Iran
SHORTLY before she began shooting the film “Circumstance,” her first experience in front of a camera, the law student and soon-to-be actress Sarah Kazemy flew from her home in France to visit relatives in Iran. She anticipated that the movie, which focuses on the lesbian romance of two Tehran teenagers rebelling against a puritanical Islamic theocracy, would make it difficult for her to return there for the foreseeable future, and she wanted to say her farewells to people and a country that she loves.
“I’m proud that this movie shows a bit of the underground life there,” even if it offends the mullahs, “because people have no idea that such a thing even exists, and it’s bigger than what you can imagine,” Ms. Kazemy said during a recent interview in Manhattan. “I used to go to Iran every summer until I was 17,” she added, “so I had to go there one last time.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/movies/circumstance-a-film-of-underground-life-in-iran.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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The dramatic moment a machine gunner on a Royal Navy warship opens fire on speedboat ‘suicide bombers’
Confronted by an unidentified speedboat powering straight towards them, this is the dramatic moment the crew of a Royal Navy warship fear they are under attack from Iranian suicide bombers.
Sailors on HMS Iron Duke rush to action stations and train their machineguns on the unmarked vessel as it maintains its menacing course in the Persian Gulf.
Concerned the small boat is packed with lethal explosives, British troops hold their nerve until it is just 300ft away – and rattle off two fearsome bursts of gunfire.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2027872/Royal-Navy-warship-opens-speedboat-Iranian-suicide-bombers.html?ITO=1490
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Iran’s covert war with Israel in Caspian
A senior Iranian general has warned zerbaijan about getting too close to Israel, underlining fears in Tehran that the Jewish state could use Iran’s northern neighbor to launch pre-emptive strikes against Iran’s nuclear program.
Israel has been quietly building intelligence and military links with oil rich Azerbaijan, a largely secular Muslim state, since the collapse of the Soviet Union two decades ago.
The Israelis sell significant amounts of weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles to the government in Baku, on the Caspian Sea, as its intelligence services dig in along the border with Iran.
That gives Israel a forward operating base to monitor Iran, particularly its contentious nuclear program, which Jerusalem views as a major existential threat.
Over the last two years, tensions have escalated as Azerbaijan has become part of the shadowy intelligence war between Iran and Israel. It has become even more important to Israel since its May 2010 rift with former ally Turkey, which also borders Iran.
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Irans_covert_war_with_Israel_in_Caspian_999.html
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Jailed Iranian blogger beaten in prison
Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, jailed Iranian blogger has been reportedly beaten by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in prison.
Zoleykha Mousavi, mother of Ronaghi Maleki told Campaign for Human Rights in Iran yesterday: “Today they called us from Prison and told us that an intelligence officer of the Guards has beaten our son in a meeting. We were told that he had passed out and after some hours, he had been transferred to Taleghani Hospital.”
Mousavi speculated that the jailed blogger was beaten for having written a letter to Tehran Prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi to complain about the judiciary’s indifference to his physical condition and refusing to grant him leave to get treatment outside prison.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/aug/1164.html
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Delays in verdict for Americans called a violation
The lawyer for two Americans detained in Iran says the case judge is violating court regulations by delaying the verdict beyond the one-week limit.
Massoud Shafii said Iranian law requires the courts to issue their verdict one week after the final trial. Shafii told the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran: “Once the judge announces the end of the trial, he must run sentence right there or at most take a week to do so. Therefore, in this case, I have to say that the judge is in violation.”
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/delays-verdict-americans-called-violation
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‘There ARE too many immigrants in the UK’, say seven in 10 Britons:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2022432/There-ARE-immigrants-UK-say-seven-10-Britons.html
Jailed Iranian Lawyer Declines Family Visits
A prominent human rights lawyer jailed in Iran has refused prison visits by her family after they were roughly treated by prison staff, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Nasrin Sotoudeh’s husband Reza Khandan told Radio Farda that he visited his wife two weeks ago along with their children and her sister.
Khandan said that during that visit, a member of the prison staff illegally tried to grab his notebook from him. Another staff member tried to take away Sotoudeh’s sister’s cell phone by force, he added.
When they protested that treatment, all four were detained for several hours, Khandan said. No food was provided for the children — an 11-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son — during that time.
http://www.rferl.org/content/jailed_iranian_lawyer_declines_family_visits/24306509.html
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Captured Taliban Commander: ‘I Received Iranian Training’
A Taliban commander captured in southwestern Afghanistan claims to have received military training in Iran to target a major dam in the region.
The claim was made by Mullah Dadullah, who was captured recently in the Lash-e Zoveyn region of Farah Province, close to the Iranian border.
“I was trained in Iran for three months. Our trainers were a mix of Pakistanis, Iranians, and Arabs,” Dadullah, the head of a group of some 150 Taliban fighters, told journalists under police supervision on August 23 in the provincial capital, Farah.
“Ali Talibi and Hussein Rezai were two of my Iranian instructors. They taught me to fire rockets and to plant mines,” he added. “I was trained in setting up remote-controlled mines and planting antitank mines. Even developed countries would have been unable to discover the mines I planted.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/captured_taliban_commander_claims_trained_in_iran/24305674.html
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U.S. Terrorism Report: State Sponsors
The State Department’s recently released Country Reports on Terrorism cites Iran as the most active state sponsor of terrorism. An excerpt:
Overview: Designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1984, Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism in 2010. Iran’s financial, material, and logistic support for terrorist and militant groups throughout the Middle East and Central Asia had a direct impact on international efforts to promote peace, threatened economic stability in the Gulf, and undermined the growth of democracy.
In 2010, Iran remained the principal supporter of groups implacably opposed to the Middle East Peace Process. The Qods Force, the external operations branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is the regime’s primary mechanism for cultivating and supporting terrorists abroad. Iran provided weapons, training, and funding to Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups, including the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC). Since the end of the 2006 Israeli-Hizballah conflict, Iran has assisted Hizballah in rearming, in direct violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Iran has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in support of Hizballah in Lebanon and has trained thousands of Hizballah fighters at camps in Iran.
http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2011/aug/23/us-terrorism-report-state-sponsors
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US hikers jailed in Iran for spying to appeal against sentence
Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal’s eight-year sentence has put further strain on relations between Iran and Washington
The lawyer for two Americans convicted of spying in Iran has said he will appeal against their eight-year sentences. The verdict shocked their families, who hoped to see them freed after more than two years already spent in Evin, Tehran’s most notorious prison.
Shane Bauer, 28, and Josh Fattal, 29, were arrested in 2009 on the border with Iraq, where they said they were hiking. They were found guilty of illegal entry and espionage at their closed trial, which ended on 31 July. The verdict is likely to further strain Iran’s already poor relations with Washington.
“We have 20 days to appeal and I will try my best to use all legal means to annul the sentence,” lawyer Masoud Shafiee told Reuters.
“It was my belief, and still is, that they are innocent and I have not seen any evidence that shows they are guilty.”
“Josh and Shane were informed about the verdict yesterday,” Shafiee said on Sunday, adding that he had not seen them in person. The two years they had already served would count towards their eight-year sentences, he said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/21/appeal-hikers-iran-jailed-spying
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More arrests and Bibles seized in Iran
Christians in Iran are facing increasing hostility from authorities in the officially Islamic country.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has received reports that a pastor has been arrested for a second time on August 17.
Abdolreza ‘Matthias’ Haghnejad, a pastor in the evangelical Church of Iran denomination, was reportedly re-arrested by Iranian authorities in Rasht whilst making a pastoral visit.
His family are in the dark about why he has been arrested and his whereabouts.
There are also concerns that he does not have access to an attorney.
Pastor Haghnejad was arrested previously in 2006. Earlier this year, he was charged with activities against the order and rounded up by authorities along with 10 other members of his denomination. He was released when the authorities dropped the charges.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/more.arrests.and.bibles.seized.in.iran/28492.htm
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Audacity and Lunacy in Iran
It’s not a good sign when you can no longer differentiate between lunacy or rationality in Iranian foreign policy. The real question, though, is who is to blame. Thus is the case when we examine two foreign policy developments in Iran, both dealing with purported espionage.
In the first, we saw that an Iranian court convicted Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, two Americans, of crossing from Iraq into Iran illegally in 2009, as well as spying for US intelligence. The duo was sentenced to eight years in prison, and it appears that circumstances surrounding prosecution of the third traveler – Sarah Shourd – who did not return to Iran while out on bail, are still up in the air. The second case involves an Iranian – Majid Jamali Fashi – who the state accuses of being a trained Israeli agent tasked with killing multiple Iranian targets, one of which he followed through with on 12 January 2010: a Tehran University physics professor, Massoud Ali Mohammadi. The state argues that Fashi killed Mohammadi with a motorcycle-borne bomb placed outside of his house.
http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2011/08/24/audacity-and-lunacy-in-iran/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=audacity-and-lunacy-in-iran
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Harsh sentence for US hikers could spell trouble for Iran’s Ahmadinejad
A day after two American hikers received an eight-year jail sentence for allegedly crossing the border illegally into Iran and spying for the United States, it appears the men may now be victims of Iran’s internal political tensions.
Iran has held Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal in prison for more than two years. In the weeks leading up to their sentencing, senior Iranian officials close to the president made comments to local media outlets that fueled speculation that the two men would likely be released. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had himself urged the court to make a light ruling.
Within the world of Iranian politics, however, a lighter sentence would have created the impression that the judiciary had caved to political pressure from the Ahmadinejad administration.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0822/Harsh-sentence-for-US-hikers-could-spell-trouble-for-Iran-s-Ahmadinejad
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Iran Tries To Exit Information Superhighway
The Iranian government has been working hard to deny the Iranian people access to the internet.
The Iranian government has been working hard to deny the Iranian people access to the internet. It has blocked websites, slowed internet speed, upgraded and expanded its filtering capabilities, established a cyber police force targeting antigovernment websites and political dissidents; it has also jailed prodemocracy bloggers, sentencing several to long prison terms.
Now the government is proceeding with its most ambitious plan to thwart the Iranian people’s access to the free flow of information and ideas. According to Iran’s communication and information technology minister Reza Taqipour Anvari, the first phase of the government’s plan for a national internet, also referred to as a “clean” or “halal” internet, will get under way at the end of August. The new national internet will have its own search engine in 2012 called Ya Haqh, meaning, “Oh Justice.” Mr. Anvari said the national internet will “better manage national emails and information gathering with the country and. . . .improve security.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/aug/1221.html
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New reports of human rights violations highlight situation of Iran’s Baha’is
Iran’s treatment of its Baha’i citizens has been identified as a major area of concern in three important new surveys carried out by international human rights organizations. The reports have recently been issued by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Minority Rights Group International (MRG) and Amnesty International.
The highlighting of the situation of Iranian Baha’is within the broader framework of international human rights violations has been welcomed by the Baha’i International Community.
“Each of these reports surveys a major issue area – minorities, women prisoners, or the Middle East in general – and each accordingly places the ongoing persecution of Baha’is in that context, demonstrating the interconnected and interrelated nature of rights violations,” said Diane Ala’i, the representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.
“We likewise express our grave concern about human rights violations directed at other groups in Iran, such as women, journalists, and human rights defenders, as well as ordinary citizens seeking the right to freedom of expression,” said Ms. Ala’i.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/aug/1226.html
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Jailed Lawyer: ‘No Fair Political Trials’ In Iran
Jailed Iranian lawyer and human rights activist Mohammad Seifzadeh has written an open letter to former President Mohammad Khatami detailing extensive violations of judicial rights, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Seifzadeh argued that Iran’s revolutionary courts are illegal. He noted that not a single one of the defendants in 6,000 political and media-related cases examined by 21 lawyers since Khatami was elected president in 1997 received a fair trial in accordance with Iran’s Constitution.
He added that none of his 180-200 fellow prisoners in Ward 350 of Tehran’s Evin prison received a fair trial either. He said their sentences were not commensurate with the actions for which they were tried.
With one exception, the same holds true for prisoners in Evin’s Ward 209, which is run by the Intelligence Ministry, Seifzadeh continued.
Seifzadeh signed his letter as a “member of the Center for Human Rights Defenders, former judge, lawyer, and current prisoner.” He said the only way out of the current situation is the “dissolution of such illegal authorities” and “structural reform of the judiciary.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/jailed_iranian_lawyer_no_political_fair_trials_in_iran/24307851.html
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Hikers’ sentence in Iran a miscarriage of ‘justice’
THE SECRET TRIAL in Iran of two young American hikers, detained near the Iran-Iraq border in 2009, was a parody of justice, and the sentences they received — eight years for illegal entry and espionage — are a travesty. Not a speck of evidence has been publicly presented to substantiate the charges. The two supposed spies speak not a word of Farsi and were carrying nothing more incriminating than cameras.
In fact, Shane M. Bauer and Joshua F. Fattal, imprisoned now for more than 750 days, are simply the latest American hostages to be seized by Iran. Their continued confinement as bargaining chips for some yet unspecified concession is indefensible.
The trial took place after two years of imprisonment and intermittent ill treatment that has left Mr. Bauer and Mr. Fattal looking thin, pale and haggard. Mr. Bauer was beaten at least once, according to Sarah E. Shourd, Mr. Bauer’s fiancee, who gave an account to Amnesty International this spring. Ms. Shourd was arrested with the two men and released last September on medical grounds.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/hikers-sentence-in-iran-is-a-miscarriage-of-justice/2011/08/26/gIQAkJy8gJ_story.html
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Iranian activist missing after arrest
Iranian officials have so far refused to acknowledge they are holding Kouhyar Goudarzi, whose mother was also arrested
Human rights groups have expressed concern over the fate of Kouhyar Goudarzi, a prominent Iranian activist who was arrested last month by plainclothes security forces.
Goudarzi, 25, an active member of the Committee for Human Rights Reporters (CHRR) in Iran, was picked up from a friend’s house in Tehran on 31 July, but authorities have so far refused to acknowledge they are holding him.
Neighbours said Goudarzi was taken away with two of his friends by people believed to be from Iran’s ministry of intelligence. His whereabouts are unknown but speculation is rife that he has been taken to Evin prison.
A day after Gourdarzi’s arrest his mother, Parvin Mokhtareh, was detained in the southern city of Kerman. She has been accused of insulting the supreme leader, propaganda against the regime and acting against the national security. Amnesty said the charges stemmed from an “interview she gave when her son was imprisoned in 2010 in relation to his peaceful human rights activities”.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/26/iran-activist-arrest-kouhyar-goudarzi
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Iranian doctor murdered after examining rape victims, says his son
Abdolreza Soudbakhsh murdered after work at Kahrizak detention centre, where mass torture and rape was alleged
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/25/iran-doctor-murder-kahrizak-rapes
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Love ‘is banned’ in Iran
I think, my dear friends, you will agree with me that love is a wonderful feeling. It enlightens a person’s life, making it better, more beautiful, filled with wonderful feelings and moments of life. What could be more beautiful than love between a man and a woman? But, alas, our government has encroached on it, too!
It seems that any sane person cannot deny love. But members of our ruling regime can. Officials of the Culture Ministry have announced that music videos about love may be banned from TV! Also, performers of these songs will be banned from performing concerts, as it is “bad”. Naturally, no one took time to provide an explanation for this decision. Maybe this is natural, since only an idiot may ban singing about love in music videos in a country known for its love poetry and beautiful women. But, in principle, there are enough idiots in our government…
http://www.news.az/articles/politics/43194
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Iranian opposition leader Karroubi moved to another location
Fatemeh Karroubi, the wife of Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi, has told Saham News that security forces have moved her husband to a separate one-bedroom apartment.
Fatemeh Karroubi told Saham News today that the apartment is reportedly very small; therefore, she has not been allowed to join her husband, who is being held under the supervision of a number of security officials.
Mehdi Karroubi and his wife were put under house arrest on February 14, after he and MirHosein Mousavi called a rally to demonstrate in support of Arab uprisings in the region.
Mehdi Karroubi had protested against the occupation of his residential complex because it kept his neighbours from entering their units, and he had asked to be moved to a house that his sons had prepared for him in north of Tehran.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iranian-opposition-leader-karroubi-moved-another-location
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Ebadi urges Iranian Bar Association to support persecuted lawyers
Iran’s Nobel Peace laureate, Shirin Ebadi, has compiled a list of 41 lawyers who have been subjected to government persecution since June 2009 for carrying out their legal duties.
Ebadi, who has given the list to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, said that the Iranian Central Bar Association has failed to maintain its independence, leaving it unable to defend its members in the wake of government attacks.
Ebadi stated: “One of the main responsibilities of the association is to oversee the performance of lawyers and to protect them legally. But lawyers are the least protected professional group in Iran.”
The Campaign goes on to add that the Central Bar Association has been ineffective in defending its members because its lacks independence from the judiciary, which in turn has come more and more under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence over the past two years.
The report adds that nearly all the lawyers on Ebadi’s list have represented political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, and their persecution centres around their advocacy for their clients and their demand for adherence to human rights and the rule of law in Iran.
The Campaign adds: “Of the 41 lawyers, 32 have been subjected to judicial prosecution, and nine have been subjected to official persecution. Of the 32 prosecuted lawyers, eight are currently in prison, two have completed their prison terms, another 21 are awaiting their final sentences and one had all charges against him dropped.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/ebadi-urges-iranian-bar-association-support-persecuted-lawyers
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Syria and Iran’s Power Calculus
Iran’s close ties to Syria mean that if the government of President Bashar al-Assad were to fall after months of opposition and a brutal crackdown, “it would be a tremendous blow to the Iranian regime,” says Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour. Syria is the country that allows Iran to supply its “crown jewel” in the Middle East, the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, Sadjadpour explains. He also says despite comments by Iran’s foreign minister suggesting that Syria should consider the views of the protest movement, Iran is doing everything in its power to ensure the survival of the Assad regime and is likely counseling the Syrian government that to give in to protestors “doesn’t alleviate the pressure, but it projects weakness and might invite even more pressure.”
http://www.cfr.org/iran/syria-irans-power-calculus/p25719?cid=rss-iran-syria_and_iran_s_power_calculu-083011&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+region%2Firan+%28CFR.org+-+Regions+-+Iran%29
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Iran inches closer to nuclear weapons
Iran has acknowledged that it possesses new technologies that could bring it closer to developing nuclear weapons and more advanced missiles. The international community is finding it more and more difficult to restrain Tehran, and increasing the country’s political and technological isolation could have dire consequences.
Smuggling to evade sanctions
Iran is now capable of producing carbon-plastic composite materials in violation of UN sanctions. Iran’s Defense Minister Ahmad Wahidi said his country is among ten nations in the world that can manufacture them. Associated Press quoted Wahidi as saying that this new capability will eliminate a bottleneck in Iran’s production of modern military systems.
Carbon-plastic composites play a key role in the production of modern solid-propellant rocket engines. Given Iran’s efforts to develop long-range solid-propellant missiles, Wahidi’s ostentatious announcement should worry detractors.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20110830/166311085.html
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Dozens of Post-Election Political Prisoners Released; Is there a Chance for Hundreds More?
Last Saturday, Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi announced that on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will pardon 100 political prisoners. According to various sources, more than 30 inmates have been released over the past two days, among them a few students and political activists arrested in the aftermath of the 2009 presidential election.
Only hours after Dolatabadi’s announcement, the state-owned Fars News Agency wrote that some of the 100 pardoned prisoners were those whose detention was related to the 2009 presidential election. Kaleme, a website close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, wrote that several of these prisoners’ sentences would have been fully served within the next few weeks, and another group of them have also served half of their prison terms, qualifying them for conditional release according to Iranian law. “Among these 100 individuals, the sentences of 8 were suspended, and 12 other prisoners’ sentences were reduced,” said Dolatabadi. It is expected that the release of political prisoners will continue.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/aug/1284.html
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Riot police attacked
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Iranian opposition says government faces legitimacy crisis.
Ardeshir Amirarjmand, a spokesman for the opposition’s Coordination Council for the Green Path of Hope, has made a provocative proclamation: “A government that is faced with a legitimacy crisis is in fear of everything and sees threats everywhere: the rejoicing of youth and the breaking of the fast in public parks, and even the water levels of Lake Oroumiyeh become a security concern.”
Amirarjmand is referring to the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which has faced a legitimacy crisis since the 2009 presidential elections were marred by allegations of vote fraud.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iranian-opposition-says-government-faces-legitimacy-crisis
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The Dangers Of Conducting Live Interviews On Iranian State Television
Live interviews are rare on Iranian state television, for obvious reasons. Going off-script means there’s a chance to evade the censors, which give the audience only the version of the news that is approved by authorities.
Yet, live interviews are, indeed, aired on some Iranian news channels, which can lead to problems, as an anchor with the News Network channel experienced recently while interviewing a Kabul-based analyst.
“Lenziran” has posted a video of the interview (in Persian, above). Here is a quick translation of the exchange:
The anchor asks the Afghan analyst in Kabul about the role of countries in the region vis-a-vis Afghanistan.
“Countries in the region, including Pakistan and Iran, don’t want a democracy to exist in Afghanistan,” says the analyst, who adds that, instead, Iran and Pakistan want to see war and instability in the country.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_state_television_live_interviews_afghanistan/24313338.html
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Latest developments in Arab world’s unrest
LIBYA
SYRIA
IRAN.
Iran’s top leader warns the Arab world not to allow Western powers and Israel to “confiscate” the region’s pro-reform uprisings, in comments that appear to reflect the Islamic republic’s unease about their standing in a profoundly altered Middle East. Iran has tried to walk two paths since the pro-democracy rebellions began in February – lauding the popular revolts as modern-day heirs to Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution, while maintaining relentless pressure on opposition groups at home. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a speech broadcast on Iran’s state TV to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, reflects the added worries that the West and its allies could gain ground in the Arab Spring.
BAHRAIN
ALGERIA
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/15370168/latest-developments-in-arab-worlds-unrest
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Summary Box: Hack may have hit people in Iran
THE SUSPICION: Experts say the Iranian government may have been behind a hacking attack, allowing it to read Google email from dissidents who thought they were using secure connections.
http://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Summary-Box-Hack-may-have-hit-people-in-Iran-2149673.php
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Iran Watching Syria With Increasing Concern
Iran is keeping a wary eye on Syria, where antiregime protests have been going on for the past five months, despite a crackdown that has reportedly left more than 2,000 dead.
Syria is Iran’s main strategic partner in the Middle East. Analysts say the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime would be a serious blow to the Islamic republic.
The rebellion in Syria has led Iran to take diplomatic measures — and reportedly financial and military steps, as well — to help Assad remain in power. Assad’s troubles are also fueling internal debate in Iran about how to deal with the uprising in Syria.
Earlier this week, Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi called for Syria to recognize the “legitimate” rights of its people — a sign of Tehran’s growing unease. Salehi’s statement on August 27 echoed comments by Iran’s President Mahmud Ahmadinejad two days earlier, who said that the Syrian people and the government should come together to reach an understanding.
Paris-based analyst and researcher Mohammad Javad Akbarein believes Iran is not worried about the rights of ordinary Syrians, however. Akbarein says Iran’s shift is motivated by concern about its own interests.
“The fall of Assad will create a strategic vacuum for the Islamic republic that will not be easy to fill,” Akbarein says. “The Islamic republic prefers at any cost — as much as it can economically and militarily bear — to stand with Bashar al-Assad and undermine those opposed to him.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_syria_watch_with_increasing_concern_assad_ahmadinejad/24316578.html
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Iran Has New Equipment to Speed the Production of Nuclear Fuel, Panel Is Told
International nuclear inspectors reported on Friday that Iran had finally begun operating a new generation of equipment that over time should give it the capability to produce nuclear fuel much faster, after years of delays made worse by Western sanctions and sabotage.
The equipment, new centrifuges that the inspectors described in a report circulated to members of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is intended to replace balky, breakdown-prone machines whose design Iran first bought from Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani who illicitly sold production equipment and bomb designs. Five years ago, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran declared that the machinery, which he claimed was made in Iran, would soon be deployed. It became clear that his boast was premature.
Iran has ignored four sets of United Nations Security Council resolutions to cease enriching uranium. But it took until this summer for the country to begin using 54 of the new centrifuges, which the Iranians call the IR-2 and claim were produced entirely in its own small factories.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/03/us/03nuke.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
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Iran’s Nuclear Experiments Raise Alarm at U.N. Agency
The United Nations’ nuclear agency says it is “increasingly concerned” that Iran has conducted experimental work to develop nuclear weapons, in particular on warheads to deliver nuclear payloads.
In a report issued Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency also said Iran has begun deploying so-called second-generation centrifuges at its largest uranium-enrichment facility at Natanz, which could allow the country to produce nuclear fuel at three times its current rate.
Tehran has concurrently begun installing centrifuge machines at an underground site near the holy city of Qom, according to the U.N. agency, potentially minimizing the ability of the U.S. or Israel to launch military strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903895904576546922988105258.html?mod=fox_australian
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Iran nuclear plans cause growing concern to UN. Video.
The UN nuclear watchdog says it is “increasingly concerned” that Iran is secretly working on components for a nuclear weapons programme.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) describes its information as “extensive and comprehensive”.
In a report seen by news agencies, it also says Tehran is preparing to enrich uranium at a new location – an underground bunker near Qom.
Tehran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.
Iran is subject to UN Security Council sanctions for refusing to freeze its enrichment programme.
Uranium enrichment can produce fuel for a nuclear reactor but can also be used to make a nuclear warhead.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14772729
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14770123
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‘Turkey must cut all ties with Israel’
Press TV.
A senior Iranian lawmaker has urged Turkey to take serious action towards completely severing its ties with Israel, downplaying Ankara’s recent expulsion of the Israeli ambassador.
“[Turkey's] contracts and contacts [with Israel] are still in place with the expulsion of the ambassador of the [Israeli] regime,” member of the Majlis (Parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Hossein Naqavi told Fars News Agency on Saturday.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/197269.html
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Crackdown Hurts Syria’s Economy
The bloody crackdown ordered by President Bashar al-Assad against protesters throughout Syria is having an effect on the nation’s economy. International condemnation of the military assaults have prompted trading partners in Europe and elsewhere to hold off on business dealings, and tourists have been scared away
Nabil Salha lives in a little mountain resort town called Mashta Helou. The town boasts the best of both worlds: the cool air of the mountains, and beaches just a short drive away.
Salha usually works as a guide for the flocks of tourists who come to escape the summer heat. But not this year.
“There’s no tourism this year,” he said, “because for a tourist to reach the resort he needs to drive down a highway with loads of police and army stationed on it.”
The police and army are there to clamp down on anti-government protests. Salha says there aren’t any problems in his town, which is mainly Christian. But he said in nearby villages and towns there have been clashes between protesters and security forces. So this summer he’s gone to Lebanon to stay with his mother.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1009.html
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Baha’i Citizen Vajih Nasheri Arrested
Baha’i resident of Sari Vajih Nasheri has been arrested by three Intelligence Ministry agents.
During the arrest, her husband Golpour who had previously been arrested, interrogated and led around the city with shackles, asked to accompany his sick wife but his request was denied.
Mrs. Golpour is 60 and is suffering from diseases such as stomach ache. Even though 8 days have passed since her arrest, her husband has been unable to transfer her medications to her.
http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=11788
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Iranian Police Arrest Water-Pistol ‘Rebels’
Iranian police have started cracking down on water fights springing up across the country, arresting several young men and women who took part in the latest organized water-pistol battles.
The semi-official Mehr news agency has reported that several young Iranians were arrested on September 2 in a Tehran park for taking part in a water pistol fight. The news agency described those arrested as “rebels.”
“A handful of people who wanted to challenge social norms and [engage] in water fights were arrested by the police” in a park in Tehran, deputy police chief Ahmad Reza Radan told Mehr on September 4.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_arrests_more_water_fighters/24317508.html
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Hackers Forge Certificates to Break into Spy Agencies
After breaching the Dutch CA (Certification Authority) DigiNotar, Iranian hackers managed to sign forged certificates for the domains of spy agencies CIA, Mossad and MI6. Leading certification authorities like VeriSign and Thawte were also targeted, as were Iranian dissident sites.
The cyber attack on DigiNotar, a Dutch subsidiary of VASCO Data Security International Inc, is much more serious than previously thought. In July, hackers gained access to the network and infrastructure of several of DigiNotar’s CAs. Once inside, they generated hundreds of forged certificates for third-party domains.
With these certificates hackers can potentially syphon off user login credentials by spoofing a legitimate site, complete with a functioning but forged SSL-certificate, apparently issued by DigiNotar.
The forged certificates match domains of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, the Israeli secret service Mossad, and the British spy agency MI6. On top of that, the hackers created false certificates of other CA’s like VeriSign and Thawte, in an attempt to also misuse their trusted position in securing Internet communications.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/239497/hackers_forge_certificates_to_break_into_spy_agencies.html
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Videos: Protests Spread in Iranian Provinces of East and West Azarbaijan
Protests have spread in the Iranian provinces of East and West Azerbaijan. Protesters took to the streets of the provincial cities of Tabriz and Oroumieh on Saturday to denounce governments lack of action with respect to the Lake Oroumieh which is facing dryness due to neglect. The protests now threaten to expand and bring to surface ethnic and political demands and reinvigorate the Iranian opposition movement.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1036.html
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After Seven Months’ House Arrest, Iran’s Musavi Visits Family
Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Musavi and his wife have visited their children for the first time after seven months of house arrest, according to the opposition Kaleme website.
The report on September 7 did not say when the visit took place.
Referring to the upcoming parliamentary election in March, Musavi said “given the continuation of the current situation, there is no hope regarding the election and participation in it.”
But he also said Iran has a bright future ahead of it.
http://www.rferl.org/content/after_seven_months_house_arrest_irans_musavi_visits_family/24322437.html
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Iran Accused Of Sanctions Violations
At the United Nations, the United States, Britain, France and Germany have accused Iran of violating UN sanctions prohibiting any launches using ballistic missile technology, as well as an arms embargo.
U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said the four countries reported the ballistic missile violation to the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against Iran.
“We must redouble our efforts to sharpen the choice for Iran’s leaders to abandon their dangerous course,” said Rice.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_accused_of_new_sanctions_violations_/24321490.html
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Iranian Political Prisoners Seek Opposition Leaders’ Release
Thirty-three political prisoners have written an open letter calling for the release from strict house arrest of Iranian opposition figures Mir Hossein Musavi and Mehdi Karrubi, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
In the letter, the signatories condemned the Iranian government’s illegal imprisonment of political leaders, while likening Musavi’s detention to “kidnapping.”
In their statement, the prisoners wrote: “It is for the good of the nation that both Musavi and Karrubi remain in the administration; they are the only defense against the scandal that the preelection coup has revealed.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/iranian_prisoners_urge_release_of_opposition_leaders/24321399.html
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Iran’s Growing State of Civil Disobedience
The Iranian regime faces a threat even more daunting than the 2009 Green Movement protests: a disparate yet potentially powerful civil disobedience movement motivated not just by politics, but by environmental, economic, and social issues. From demonstrations over the drying up of Lake Orumieh in northwestern Iran to organized youth water fights in Tehran, the resilience and spontaneity of protests in Iran have recently been on full display. But these protests differ from the 2009 protests. They are not necessarily motivated by Iran’s contentious factional politics, and they are not wedded to the agenda of Iran’s Islamist reform movement. Rather, they are the outpouring of popular frustration with daily life in Iran.
http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2011/sep/08/iran%E2%80%99s-growing-state-civil-disobedience
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Iran executes three men on homosexuality charges
Convicts were sentenced to death ‘for acts against the Sharia law and bad deeds’
Three Iranian men have been executed after being found guilty of charges related to homosexuality, according to a semi-official news agency.
The men, only identified by their initials, were hanged on Sunday in the south-western city of Ahvaz, the capital of Iran’s Khuzestan province.
“The three convicts were sentenced to death based on the articles 108 and 110 of Iran’s Islamic penal code, for acts against the sharia law and bad deeds,” the Isna agency quoted a judiciary official in Khuzestan as saying.
Iran Human Rights, an independent NGO based in Norway, said the men were charged with “lavat” – sexual intercourse between two men. It is not clear whether the three men were homosexuals or merely smeared with homosexualityaccused of being gay.
Isna said the men were also convicted of robbery and kidnapping.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/07/iran-executes-men-homosexuality-charges
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Mousavi says no point in joining Iran’s parliamentary elections
On Wednesday September 7, the Kaleme opposition website reported on Mousavi’s meeting with his daughters and quoted him saying: “In view of the rigidity of the current situation, one cannot rest any hopes on the election and participating in it.”
Mir Hossein Mousavi and his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, have been under house arrest since February, virtually cut off from the outside world.
Kaleme writes that the family meeting was unprecedented because it took place in the home of one of the daughters, away from the house where Mousavi and Rahnavard have been confined for the past seven months. A senior member of the judiciary was also present at the meeting.
Mousavi and Rahanavard have reportedly told their children that they are denied access to newspapers, radio and even pen and paper in an attempt to “erase the truth from our minds.” They have said that government forces have confiscated many of their belongings, including a number of paintings and artifacts.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1070.html
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Interview with Dervishes’ Spokesperson: Clashes and Widespread Arrests of Iran’s Gonabadi Dervishes
Following a violent confrontation between plainclothes forces and Gonabadi Dervishes in Kavar town of Fars Province in which shots were fired, the directors of Majzooban-e Noor, a website that reported on the group’s news, were arrested. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran spoke with Seyed Mostafa Azmayesh, the International Spokesperson for Gonabadi Nematollahi Dervishes and International Relations Director of The International Organisation to Protect Human Rights in Iran, about the current situation in Kavar.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1072.html
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Iran’s Intelligence Minister warns against opposition
Iranian Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi says a group of the president’s allies has joined with the people who protested the results of the 2009 election, but his ministry will not allow them to “derail” the coming elections.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1057.html
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Das ist der Anfang des “arabischen Frühlings”:
http://parsdailynews.com/89293.htm
Interessant:
http://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article13593259/Muslimbrueder-ziehen-gegen-Bikinis-zu-Felde.html
IAEA Chief Says Iran’s ‘Greater Transparency’ Not Enough
The director-general of the UN nuclear agency said today that Iran had demonstrated “greater transparency” lately.
But Yukiya Amano, opening a weeklong meeting of the IAEA board of governors in Vienna, said Tehran was “not providing the necessary cooperation” to be able to conclude all its activities were peaceful, as the Islamic republic says.
“The agency is increasingly concerned about the possible existence in Iran of past or current undisclosed nuclear-related activities involving military related organizations,” he said, “including activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile, about which the agency continues to receive new information.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_iaea_nuclear_program_transparency/24326259.html
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Dying Lake Gives New Life To Iran’s Antigovernment Protests
Iran’s largest lake is dying, but it’s giving new life to antigovernment protests along its receding shores.
Lake Orumieh, one of the world’s largest saltwater lakes, has shrunk by some 60 percent in recent years due to drought and misguided development policies. Environmentalists warn that unless something is done, the lake will disappear forever.
This dire prospect has put locals who depend on the lake on edge. And seeing as the lake straddles the border of Iran’s East and West Azerbaijan provinces, centers of the country’s ethnic Azeri population that have a rich and volatile history of protest against Tehran, the central government is on edge too.
Tensions over the lake’s falling water levels boiled over last week, after parliament, the Majlis, decided against local lawmakers’ proposed fast-track solution to the problem in an August 17 vote. Scores of locals took to the streets of Orumieh (aka Urmia) on August 27, and open conflict with security forces ensued.
“Let’s cry and fill Lake Orumieh with our tears,” protesters chanted in Orumieh, as well as, “Lake Orumieh is dying; the Majlis is issuing its death sentence” (see video here).
And what might have been heard loudest by the authorities — already sensitive to any signs of a return of the large-scale protest that followed the country’s 2009 presidential election and wary of any outward signs of ethnic discord in the country’s Azeri regions — were chants like these: “Azerbaijan rise up and cry out,” and “If Azerbaijan doesn’t rise up, it will lose.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/dying_lake_revives_iran_protests/24314925.html
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UANI Condemns Ahmadinejad’s Remarks About 9/11, Highlights Iran’s Alliance with al-Qaeda
It is vile and outrageous that Ahmadinejad again accused the U.S. of orchestrating 9/11, particularly when his government is currently allied with al-Qaeda. As the U.S. Treasury Department revealed this year, Iran has formed an alliance with al-Qaeda—the very group responsible for the 9/11 attacks—and is helping al-Qaeda transfer money, weapons, and fighters to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Iran’s partnership with the group that caused 9/11 represents an extreme danger to the world, particularly given Iran’s current pursuit of nuclear weapons. All corporations that do business in Iran should end their business immediately, and send a message to the regime that its continued sponsorship of al-Qaeda will not go unpunished. UANI calls on all New York City hotels and businesses to deny service to Ahmadinejad during this month’s UN General Assembly opening session.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110912006850/en/UANI-Condemns-Ahmadinejad%E2%80%99s-Remarks-911-Highlights-Iran%E2%80%99s
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Iran to try Mossad assassin on Sep. 13
“The main suspect in this case is Ali Jamali-Fashi, who was arrested after the assassination,” Jafari-Dolatabadi said on Monday.
The Iranian official added that the trial would be held in Tehran’s Revolution Court, ISNA reported.
Jafari-Dolatabadi added that Jamali-Fashi is accused of four counts, most importantly Moharebeh (waging war against God).
Tehran’s Prosecutor said Jamali-Fashi had traveled to Israel to receive training from Mossad, and according to his confessions had received USD 120,000 to assassinate Ali-Mohammadi.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/198805.html
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Was Ayatollah Khomeini a State Sponsor of Terrorism? Does the Pope Shit in the Woods?
In 1989, the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, pledged $5.2 million for the murder of author Salman Rushdie, also calling for the death of anyone involved in publishing his controversial novel, The Satanic Verses.
“I call on all zealous Muslims to execute them quickly, wherever they find them, so that no one will dare to insult Islamic sanctity,” Khomeini said. “Whoever is killed doing this will be regarded as a martyr and will go directly to heaven.”
This weekend, some local Muslim leaders got really angry over the insinuation that Khomeini, whose fatwa resulted in the death of scores of innocents, was a sponsor of terrorism.
As the Seattle Times reports, a meeting was held Saturday at North Seattle Community College between 20 or so local Muslim leaders and law enforcement, with the aim of getting everyone to play together a bit more nicely.
Things went fine during the Seattle PD’s presentation, which covered how to assert one’s rights when stopped and questioned by police officers. But trouble arose when two FBI agents got up and started talking about Islamic terrorism, and in particular state-sponsored terrorism.
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2011/09/was_ayatollah_khomeini_a_state.php
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Playing with Khamenei in Syria’s Field
Speaking on the occasion of the last Friday of the month of Ramadhan on the Alghoosein program, al-Minar agreed to respond to questions raised by Batool Ayub, the director of the station. During the interview, on the issue regarding the biggest challenge to the foreign policy of the Islamic republic of Iran in the Middle East which is the popular protests in Syria against Bashar Assad, Iran’s ally, Ahmadinejad took a position which is 180 degrees at odds with the announced views of the supreme leader of Iran.
At the interview, Ahmadinejad said, “The people and government of Syria had to sit together and come to an agreement on reforms.” He also said that the Syrian people must have the right to elections, freedom and justice, adding that a schedule should be agreed on this and the West not be allowed to intervene in its affairs.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1113.html
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Karroubi says reformists have no place in next elections
Detained Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi says there is no place for reformists in the coming parliamentary elections.
Esmail Gerami Moghaddam, the spokesman for Karroubi’s National Trust Party, told Saham News that the opposition leader told his eldest son during their last meeting that “there is no place for reformists in the next parliamentary elections, where only principalists will be competing.”
The conservative faction of the Islamic Republic establishment is sometimes referred to as the principalists.
Karroubi has been under house arrest since last February. He and the other opposition leader, MirHosein Mousavi, as well as their wives, have been under house arrest and denied any access to the outside world.
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/karroubi-says-reformists-have-no-place-next-elections
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Fartâb Pârse schreibt:
12. September 2011 um 18:30
Das werd die ganse Economie von Egypten total zerstoren kanst du mir glauben.
Spater werden naturlich die Juden die schulfrage bekommen.
Fartâb Pârse schreibt:
10. September 2011 um 10:40
Konnen sie bitte eine kleine ubersetsung zum deutsch dar stellen.
Dan kann ich das bericht weiter leiten.
Gruss Henk
Entschuldige meine fehler im deutsche sprache und schreiben. Bin ja Hollander.
Iran Judiciary Says Bail For Two Americans Still Under Review
Iran’s judiciary says it is still considering whether to offer bail to two U.S. nationals detained on spying charges, after President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said the release of the two men was imminent.
Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were sentenced last month to eight years in prison.
On September 13, Ahmadinejad said they could be be freed “in a couple of days.” Their lawyer said they would be released on $500,000 bail each.
Iran’s English-language Press TV today quoted an unnamed judiciary official as saying that “the two Americans are going to stay in prison for a bit longer. Reports of their imminent release are wrong.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_americans_bail_bauer_fattal/24328013.html
Iranian Cultural Figures Call For Release Of Detained Colleagues
More than 80 Iranian cultural figures are calling for the release of jailed fellow artists and the review of the verdicts handed down to them, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
The writers, poets, painters, photographers, actors, and musicians say in a statement that so many cultural figures are being held in Iranian jails that some prisons could be called “the house of artists.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/iranian_cultural_figures_call_for_release_of_detained_colleagues/24328135.html
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US rejects Iran’s latest offer on nuclear talks as a ‘charm offensive’
The U.S. dismissed Wednesday a recent offer by Iran to discuss its disputed nuclear program with world powers as a “charm offensive,” saying Iran was “flouting” its international obligations.
The statement by Glyn Davies, chief U.S. delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency, comes before next week’s U.N. General Assembly meeting. Davies said the Islamic republic’s latest offer for talks fails to provide any fresh indications of an Iranian commitment to address international concerns that it could be working on nuclear warhead experiments.
“Stonewalling the IAEA, flouting U.N. Security Council obligations and mounting this most recent charm offensive do not reflect a good-faith effort to resolve those concerns,” Davies told reporters.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/us-allies-concern-mounts-over-possible-iranian-weapons/2011/09/14/gIQAF0kjRK_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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Plane Sent to Iran Amid Bail Efforts for U.S. Hikers
The Gulf state of Oman dispatched a private plane to Iran Wednesday amid efforts toward a bail-for-freedom deal for two Americans jailed for spying—in a possible replay of the diplomatic exchange that freed a third member of the group last year.
The Omani official gave no further details on any possible timetable for the release of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, who were detained along the Iran-Iraq border in July 2009 with their friend, Sarah Shourd.
The Omani intervention suggested movement on the complicated judicial and diplomatic dealings over the total $1 million bail, which was thrown into doubt earlier Wednesday when Iran’s judiciary said the deal still needed review.
A plane sent by Oman’s sultan brought Ms. Shourd from Iran last September after payment of $500,000 bail. Oman has close ties with both Tehran and Washington, and plays a strategic role in the region by sharing control with Iran of the Strait of Hormouz at the mouth of the Gulf, which is the route for 40% of the world’s oil tanker traffic.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904060604576570442382384316.html?mod=fox_australian
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Water fights are political and house arrests, beneficial
At a press conference on Monday September 5, Iran’s Prosecutor was faced with the most controversial judicial news of the day. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei was pressed by the media for his stance on the organizers of public water fights as well as his views on the house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement.
A reading of the Prosecutor General’s statements
It is not a crime, but we will confront it
Asked about the phenomenon of young people using Facebook to arrange water fights in public parks, Mohseni Ejei said: “These programs are guided from the outside.”
He did not clarify what he meant by “outside” but it is safe to assume he’s referring to Western countries.
Iranian authorities have consistently described social-networking sites as being guided by the West as part of a “soft war” against the Islamic Republic. They also cite the water fight phenomenon as evidence of this soft war.
Organized water fights were first held on July 30, when a group of young people with water guns gathered at Tehran’s Fire and Water Park. Pictures of this leisure activity in the media drew the ire of government officials. The pictures showed smiling young men and women spraying each other with water.
The Hijab (Islamic attire) that some of these women wore did not exactly correspond with the examples promoted by the government, although some women even wore chadors.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1130.html
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Five Iranian BBC Reporters Arrested
Iranian state media has reported that five Iranian people working for the Persian television service of the BBC have been arrested.
The reports said the reporters were arrested on September 17, while making a documentary without authorization from the foreign press department of the culture ministry.
Minister Mohammad Hosseini confirmed the arrest and said the intelligence service would soon provide more details.
http://www.rferl.org/content/five_iranian_bbc_reporters_arrested/24332756.html
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Another Iranian Lashed Over Political Activism
An Iranian political activist member of a group called “Iran’s Democratic Party” has received 30 lashes after being convicted of charges that are often brought against dissidents, including acting against national security.
The Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners has posted photos of Faraji’s welt-covered back after the sentence was carried out.
Faraji reportedly has also been given a three-year suspended prison sentence and a fine.
Unlike the lashing sentence that was carried out last week against a female doctoral student of sociology that received lots of attention and condemnation, Faraji’s sentence has gone largely unnoticed.
http://www.rferl.org/content/another_iran_activist_lashed_over_political_activism/24333385.html
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Iranian Doctoral Student Lashed In Connection With Postelection Arrest*
A doctoral student of sociology and blogger who campaigned for defeated presidential candidate and opposition leader Mir Hossein Musavi has reportedly received 50 lashes at Tehran’s Evin prison.
Thirty-three-year-old Somayeh Tohidlou, who spent more than two months in jail at the height of the continuing postelection crackdown, was sentenced to one year in prison and 50 lashes after the reelection of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad*, the incumbent victor in the disputed June 2009 vote. An appeals court later canceled her prison sentence.
But she reports that her lashing sentence was carried out on September 14.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iranian_doctoral_student_lashed_insulting_ahmadinejad/24330373.html
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Questions for Mr. Ahmadinejad
I realize that reporters at the United Nations this week will be terribly busy covering the world body’s annual proctological exam of Israel, but Karim Sadjapour suggests that reporters ask the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a few questions, if they happen to stumble upon him. Here are a few from Karim, to get things started:
Nongovernmental organizations, including Transparency International, Freedom House and the World Bank, have said that Iran’s rates of corruption, economic malaise and repression during your tenure are higher than those of Hosni Mubarak’s Egypt and Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali’s Tunisia. Are you confident you won’t share their fate?
Iran’s closest ally since the 1979 revolution, Syria, has brutally killed more than 2,600 citizens this year — including children — who were protesting for greater political freedoms. How do you reconcile your country’s close friendship with Bashar al-Assad’s regime, given your claim to stand for justice and the oppressed?
The anti-government protests in Iran on June 15, 2009, were significantly larger than any protests in the Middle East this year, yet you referred to the protesters as “dust and dirt.” Do you regret using that term?
In leaked diplomatic cables, a senior Iraqi tribal leader asserted that your government has provided him and other Iraqi officials “short-term marriages” with Iranian women in order to garner influence. Does Iran use prostitution as a form of statecraft?
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/09/questions-for-mr-ahmadinejad/245279/
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US Wary of Turkey’s Financial Dealings With Iran
Turkey and its U.S. and European allies could be on a collision course over Iran. Despite international efforts to isolate Iran over its disputed nuclear program, Turkey has deepened trade and financial relations with Tehran. A Turkish state bank recently helped transfer a multi-billion-dollar payment to Iran. The deal comes in the face of Washington’s calls on Ankara to stop cooperation.
The Turkish state-owned Halkbank recently has helped India transfer part of a $5 billion payment to Iran for oil deliveries. The intervention of the Turkish bank is a major boost to Tehran, according to Turkey-Iran expert Mehrdad Emadi.
“This money was very badly needed and it actually had caused shortage of hard currencies in Tehran,” said Emadi. “So in that sense, it actually gives a new lease of life to regime.”
The Indian payment had been delayed by increasingly tightening Western sanctions on Iran. The West suspects Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its program is for peaceful energy development.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/US-Wary-of-Turkeys-Financial-Dealings-With-Iran-129969208.html
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Iran arrests 19 – including president’s protege – over £1.65billion fraud
Iran has arrested 19 people suspected of being the masterminds behind the country’s biggest ever case of fraud.
More are expected to be questioned after the £1.65billion scam which rocked financial institutions.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been linked to the theft after his protégé was alleged to have been involved.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2039055/19-arrested-Iran-countrys-biggest-1-65billion-fraud-stuns-Ahmadinejad.html?ITO=1490
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Head of Central Bank denies stolen billions transferred out of Iran
Mahmoud Bahmani, the head of Iran’s Central Bank, has denied rumours that $2-billion has already been transferred out of the country as part of a $3-billion embezzlement.
The Mehr news agency reports that Bahmani spoke on the sidelines of the parliamentary probe into the $3-billion bank fraud. On the rumours that $2-billion has already left Iran, he said: “No such thing has happened. There is no evidence that this money has been sent out of the country.”
A Tehran daily published a report on Tuesday citing an unidentified knowledgeable source, who said $2-billion dollars from the embezzlement has already been transferred out of the country.
Iranian MP Mohammadreza Khabbaz confirmed the report today in an interview with ILNA.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1181.html
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Iran human rights situation deplorable; Regime must improve press freedom.
In a letter to Ahmad Shaheed, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, the Committee to Protect Journalists has urged action with respect to the “deplorable state of journalists” in the country, highlighting the continued violation of human rights perpetrated by Iranian authorities.
“Authorities are maintaining a revolving prison door, freeing some prisoners on furloughs even as they make new arrests. The furloughed journalists often post six-figure bonds and endure enormous political pressure to keep silent or turn on their colleagues,” wrote Joel Simon, the Committee’s Executive Director.
The letter criticised what it called a “retaliatory policy” adopted by the Iranian regime which regularly increases prison sentences without any due process.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/aug/18/3245
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Iran Frees US Hikers
Iran has released two American hikers who were detained in 2009 on charges of spying. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal walked out of an Iranian prison on Wednesday after a judge approved an order for their release. A car from the Swiss Embassy waited for them in the prison grounds. They were released after posting $1 million bail.
Their release was reported by Iran’s Press TV. The U.S. television network CNN said a U.S. State Deprtment official confirmed the release.
The hiker’s attorney, Masoud Shafiei, said they would be turned over to Swiss authorities in Tehran, which represents U.S. interests in the country. Oman said it has provided an aircraft that is at the Tehran airport waiting to take them from the country.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1208.html
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Iran’s Naval-Gazing More Political Than Military
When the Iranian Navy announced that its forces had foiled a hijacking attempt by eight boatloads of Somali pirates off the coast of Yemen earlier this month, it was held up as an example of how naval commandos could successfully protect remote Iran-chartered cargo ships.
That announcement, delivered on September 10, came just days after the government in Tehran revealed that it was sending a naval surface ship and a submarine into the Red Sea — in an echo of another multiple-ship mission during the summer that was hailed by Iran’s official media as the “first such operation by the country’s navy in far-off waters.”
More headlines are sure to come. Iran’s leaders have declared their intention to boost their presence in regional waters and beyond. They are talking up their naval capabilities and declaring their ambition to stage more operations far from the country’s territorial waters.
Tehran is not being coy about the motivation for all this activity: to impress other regional powers with Iran’s growing influence and to undercut the American military presence in the waters around Southwest Asia.
“The days of hegemonic powers which determined the fate of other nations with their military presence have come to an end,” said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, in a speech to naval personnel in the port of Bandar Abbas several weeks ago. “[Iran] will impose its resolve on any military and political power and force them to retreat.”
He called the presence of U.S. and European ships in the Persian Gulf “detrimental and unwarranted” and said the region’s seas remain independent “due to the powerful presence of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1205.html
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U.S. hiker ‘spies’ on way home after Iran release
Two U.S. hikers jailed for spying and illegal entry were on their way home to the United States on Wednesday after Iran released them on bail, months after handing them hefty jail terms.
Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, both 29, were driven straight to Tehran’s Mehrabad airport after their release from the capital’s notorious Evin prison and boarded a flight to the Gulf sultanate of Oman, which paid their bail.
In Muscat, the foreign ministry said Oman welcomes the pair and “hopes this humanitarian initiative will be followed by other positive initiatives that would help achieve rapprochement between both the Americans and the Iranians . . . to achieve stability in the region.”
http://www.canada.com/news/hiker+spies+home+after+Iran+release/5435109/story.html
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Ahmadinejad Unwelcome In New York…Again
Police cars and roadblocks on Tuesday surrounded Manhattan’s posh Warwick hotel, where Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad is reportedly staying during the UN General Assembly.
The main entrance was closed and a temporary entrance and exit set up with a metal detector and more than two dozen police officers screening visitors and scanning the street.
An official asked an RFE/RL reporter taking photos on the public sidewalk to move along because the area was secured by “secret service and stuff.”
Employees at the hotel’s front desk professed no knowledge of whether Ahmadinejad was staying at the hotel, and said there was no one available to comment on his alleged presence.
The Warwick is the object of scrutiny spearheaded by a nonprofit group called United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). The group’s founders include former U.S. Ambassadors to the UN Mark Wallace and the late Richard Holbrooke, Middle East diplomat Dennis Ross, and former C.I.A. Director Jim Woolsey.
http://www.rferl.org/content/ahmadinejad_unwelcome_in_new_york_again/24335351.html
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Senators Press Obama on Iran’s Central Bank
More than 90 U.S. senators signed a letter to President Barack Obama pressing him to sanction Iran’s central bank, with some threatening legislation to force the move, an outcome that would represent a stark escalation in tensions between the two countries.
Such a measure, if effectively implemented, could potentially freeze Iran out of the global financial system and make it nearly impossible for Tehran to clear billions of dollars in oil sales every month, said current and former U.S. officials.
Many American officials view the blacklisting of Bank Markazi as the “nuclear option” in Washington’s financial war against Tehran. Some Iranian leaders have said they would view such a move by the Obama administration as an act of war.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904480904576494463569720404.html?
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Iran Asks Russia About Building More Reactors
Iran’s President Mahmud Ahmadinejad says his government is in talks with Russia about building additional nuclear power reactors.
Iran’s Bushehr power plant was completed by the Russian company Atomstroyexport at a cost of $1 billion and was commissioned earlier this month.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_asks_russia_about_building_more_reactors/24338368.html
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Hundreds In New York Protest Ahmadinejad’s UN Appearance
AP video.
As Ahmadinejad addressed the UN General Assembly, U.S. diplomats rose from their seats and left the hall, followed by delegations from some two dozen other Western countries.
Several hundred people gathered outside United Nations headquarters in New York to protest the appearance of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad at the UN General Assembly.
The rally was organized by the Association of Iranian-Americans in New York and took place on Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, across from the sprawling UN complex on the East River. Speakers included former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and former U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton.
Demonstrators hung banners and posters with anti-Ahmadinejad slogans and facts about the Islamic republic’s dismal human rights record. Protesters chanted, “Down With The Islamic Republic! Down With Ahmadinejad!”
Sattar Deldar, the president of a North American-based Persian language TV channel, Appadana TV, told RFE/RL that the protest was aimed at showing opposition to the Iranian regime and solidarity with those it oppresses, not at disrupting the General Assembly.
“Every year we see that American people support the Iranian people,” Deldar said. “So this is great. We don’t want to get involved in the UN and the UN policy, but [we are] the people thinking different. So we came to show real people what they are thinking about the Iranian government. That’s all.”
The protest’s highlight was a mock wedding ceremony between Ahmadinejad and his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, who is currently leading a brutal crackdown on his own people. Libya’s ousted leader Muammar Qaddafi officiated.
http://www.rferl.org/content/ahmadinejad_iran_un_speech/24337065.html
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Walkouts and fury: A look at Ahmadinejad’s U.N. speeches
Whether he is predicting the demise of the U.S. “empire,” questioning U.S. accounts of the 9/11 attacks or accusing Europe of using the Holocaust as an excuse for supporting Israel, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad knows how to push the West’s buttons at the U.N. General Assembly.
For the third straight year, U.S. diplomats on Thursday joined envoys from several other nations in walking out during the Iranian president’s address at the annual United Nations gathering in New York. That doesn’t even count instances before that, when American diplomats conspicuously skipped his speech altogether.
This year, Ahmadinejad said European countries “still use the Holocaust after six decades as the excuse to pay (a) fine or ransom to the Zionists,” and that the United States killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden instead of investigating “hidden elements involved in September 11.”
Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, wasn’t impressed.
“We find what Ahmadinejad does and says when he comes to the United Nations absolutely odious, hateful, anti-Semitic, unacceptable, which is why the United States for three consecutive years — including today — have led a walkout of his speech,” Rice told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Thursday. “Inevitably he says something outrageous, dishonest and offensive, and that leads to a walkout.”
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/22/world/un-ahmadinejad-speeches/index.html?section=cnn_latest
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Social media gives women a voice in Iran
Female protesters were beaten, raped and intimidated in a post-election crackdown by the Iranian authorities. Silenced by stigma and fear, these women are now using social media to bear witness to the horror
A young woman is speaking to the camera, her face obscured to prevent her being identified. Her voice heavy with emotion, and hands gesturing, she describes the rape and torture she endured at the hands of her guards while imprisoned during the post-election crackdown in Iran. “Death was my first wish,” she says after recounting the physical and sexual assaults that began when she was picked up on her way home from university and thrown into a van. “I wanted it to be over. I wanted to die.”
Bruised from her beatings, she was taken to a detention centre where her interrogator told her, before he raped her: “I will do something you will never forget. I’ll make it so you never want to leave your house again, so any time you hear my name, you will tremble.” The young student was ordered to copy a “confession”, which said she was a “rioter” and a terrorist who had endangered national security. “I didn’t even have nail clippers in my purse for them to say I had anything remotely sharp or dangerous,” the woman retorts. “All I had done was give one vote and that was to Mousavi. A vote that was never counted.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/sep/22/social-media-women-iran?newsfeed=true
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Addresses United Nations General Assembly
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took to the podium at the U.N. General Assembly Thursday – one day after two American hikers were released from prison in Tehran – to deliver a speech strongly condemning the United States.
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Three State Media Journalists Arrested In Iran
Three Iranian journalists working for state media outlets are reported have been arrested in recent weeks, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
The arrests of Mehrdad Sarjouei, Amir Ali Alamehzadeh, and Hadi Ahmadi add to a growing list of imprisoned journalists in Iran.
Numerous independent media outlets have been closed down over the past decade and many journalists have been detained or forced to leave the country.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_media_journalists_arrested/24341424.html
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Toronto Film Festival Decries Filmmakers’ Detentions In Iran
Organizers of the Toronto International Film Festival, the largest in North America, have decried the recent arrest of six independent filmmakers in Iran “whose work should be seen and their voices heard.”
In a statement, they expressed “deep concern” over the arrest last week of Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Katayoun Shahabi, Hadi Afarideh, Nasser Saffarian, Shahnama Bazdar, and Mohsen Shahrnazdar by Iranian authorities.
http://www.rferl.org/content/article/24341047.html
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Americans Convicted Of Spying In Iran Say They Were ‘Hostages’
Two Americans held in Tehran since 2009 on spying charges have arrived in the United States with sharp criticism of Iran, saying they were detained because of their nationality, not their actions.
Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer returned to the United States on September 25 following their release on September 21 on $1 million bail.
Fattal and Bauer were arrested with their friend Sarah Shourd along the Iraq-Iran border in July 2009. Shourd had been released on $500,000 bail a year ago.
Last month, Fattal and Bauer were sentenced to eight years in prison after a trial held behind closed doors in Tehran. Washington denies the group were spies and U.S. President Barack Obama has said they should never have been detained.
Speaking at a press conference in New York on September 25, Fattal told reporters the case against them was a complete fabrication by the Iranian regime.
“It was clear to us from the very beginning that we were hostages,” Fattal said. “‘Hostage’ is the most accurate term because, despite certain knowledge of our innocence, the Iranian government has tied our case to its political disputes with the U.S.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_us_hikers/24339743.html
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The Biggest Hypocrite Of All
A leopard can’t change its spots. Nor, apparently, can Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad when it’s time for his annual address at the UN General Assembly.
Ahmadinejad is back in Tehran now, after traveling to New York last week to deliver his seventh speech to the UN, which, like all those before it, was full of sentiments about which Iranians can only dream. One can only imagine what they were thinking as they listened to Ahmadinejad deliver a lecture on ethical leadership.
The man who took the podium is a weakened and isolated figure at home. But you wouldn’t know it by the way he treated the speaker’s platform as a mosque pulpit and delivered a speech that sounded like a Friday Prayer sermon.
Like a mullah who reminds worshipers of their responsibilities toward Allah and prescribes behavior in religious, social, economic, and political affairs, Ahmadinejad preached the need for an underlying “faith in God,” “compassion,” “justice,” “dignity,” and “freedom.” He called for world leaders to have “integrity in both words and deeds” and a “defiance of oppression.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/ahmadinejad_biggest_hypocrite_of_all/24341946.html
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Iranian opposition leader describes his situation as “kidnapping”
Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi says Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s non-fiction book,News of a Kidnapping, is an accurate description of his own situation under house arrest.
After Mousavi told his daughters during a brief and heavily guarded visit that people who want to know about his life under house arrest should read Marquez’s News of a Kidnapping, the translated version has sold out in Iranian bookstores.
Mousavi and his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, were put under house arrest after Mousavi and his fellow opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi rallied their supporters to demonstrate in solidarity with the Arab uprisings in the region. Since last February, the two leaders have been under house arrest together with their wives and cut off from the outside world, except for a handful of brief visits with their children held under heavy security.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1270.html
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Iran: Executions point to ‘killing spree’
A sharp rise in the number of executions reported in Iran is raising suspicions that the Tehran regime has, in the words of a British newspaper, engaged in “a judicial killing spree” to intimidate its opponents.
Human rights organizations say this underlines the alarm within the regime that Iran could be infected by the wave of pro-democracy uprisings that have swept the Arab world since January and toppled three dictators.
The Tehran regime has cracked down hard on political dissidents since a major confrontation with protesters during the hotly disputed 2009 presidential election when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a second four-year term.
Thousands of dissidents were arrested and reportedly continue to be harassed and persecuted.
GRAPHIC: Public Execution in Iran
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/09/27/Iran-Executions-point-to-killing-spree/UPI-12931317141256/
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Iranian pastor refuses to recant faith despite death sentence
Iranian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani has twice refused to recant his Christian faith during two court hearings held in Rasht, Gilan Province on September 25 to 26.
Sources close to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) indicate that recanting will again be demanded at sessions scheduled for September 27-28, and that if he continues to refuse, he will be executed thereafter.
CSW explained that Pastor Nadarkhani was tried and found guilty of apostasy in September 2010 by the court of appeals in Rasht. The verdict was delivered verbally in court, while written confirmation of the death sentence was received nearly two months later.
At the appeal in June 2011, the Supreme Court of Iran upheld Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani’s sentence, but asked the court in Rasht, which issued the initial sentence, to re-examine whether or not he had been a practicing Muslim adult prior to converting to Christianity.
CSW says the written verdict of the Supreme Court’s decision included provision for annulment of the death sentence if Pastor Nadarkhani recanted his faith.
Following investigation, the court in Rasht has ruled that Pastor Nadarkhani was not a practicing Muslim adult before becoming a Christian. However, the court has decided that he remains guilty of apostasy because he has Muslim ancestry.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/iranian.pastor.refuses.to.recant.faith.despite.death.sentence/28690.htm
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Iranian court orders waiter to blinded in one eye as ‘eye-for-eye’ retribution
An Iranian waiter will be blinded in one eye as retribution for hurling acid at a man five years ago.
The Islamic Republic”s Supreme Court sanctioned the punishment for the 26-year-old waiter Mohammad, after the victim named Vali asked for revenge.
The attack happened after a plot was hatched by the victim”s brother-in-law, the Daily Mail reports.
http://www.newkerala.com/news/2011/worldnews-75945.html
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Iranian doctor murdered after examining rape victims, says his son
The son of an Iranian doctor who was killed after examining the rape victims of the country’s 2009 unrest has spoken for the first time about the motives behind his father’s assassination.
Abdolreza Soudbakhsh, a physician and professor at Tehran University, was shot dead by men on a motorcycle as he left his office last September. At the time of his assassination, Iranian officials denied his murder had anything to do with the cases of alleged rape in Kahrizak, a detention centre that Iran used to imprison many of the opposition activists caught up in the protests following the country’s disputed presidential elections.
Many protesters are believed to have been tortured to death in Kahrizak and several have claimed they were raped. But the doctor’s son Behrang Soudbakhsh said in an interview with Fereshteh Ghazi of Roozonline, an opposition website, that his father had indeed examined the rape victims of Kahrizak and was under pressure to remain silent about those who died under torture.
Kahrizak became a scandal for the regime when Mohsen Rouholamini, the son of a former senior advisor to the Revolutionary Guards, was named among prisoners who died in the centre.
After Rouholamini’s death, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ordered the closure of Kahrizak but the opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi later spoke out about the extent of rape inside the centre after meeting some of its victims.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/aug/27/3252
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Iran’s foreign currency reserves depleted
Iran’s Foreign Currency Reserve Account has reached a zero balance despite high oil prices in recent years, the Iranian National Audit Organization announced.
Mehr News Agency reports: “Lack of proper supervision of plans and the failure to follow up on the necessary payments has depleted the Foreign Currency Reserve Account in the years 2008 and 2009.”
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would not reveal the 2009 balance, calling the information classified. But he said the amount of the balance “is unprecedented in the whole history of the country.” He stated, however, that there are sufficient reserves in the account to last for several years of national need.
Last November, Shamseddin Hosseiny, Iran’s Minister of Finance announced that Iran’s foreign currency reserves equalled $100 billion and its foreign debt $20 billion.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1269.html
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Neda’s Mother Discredits Ahmadinejad
Hajar Rostami Motlagh, Neda Agha Soltan’s mother responded to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s comments during his latest trip to New York as follows:
“I find this gentleman’s remarks comical. The people are fully aware of who killed Neda. The first year he was in New York he held up a picture of an Egyptian woman and when they asked him about Neda, he spoke of the Egyptian woman instead. To add insult to injury, last year he claimed that everyone is free and this year he has continued with these ludicrous comments. Every year he goes to the U.S. and says something… How should we respond to these comments? Should we remind him that as the head of a government he should have a conscience? Should we ask him how he can give himself the right to claim that everything has been fabricated? Even if we did, it would be to no avail.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1260.html
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Detained Iranian Lawyer Charged With Accepting Human Rights Award
A prominent Iranian lawyer who was arrested earlier this month is reported to be facing a new charge of accepting an “unlawful” award for his human rights work.
Abdolfatah Soltani, who has represented a number of well-known Iranian political and human rights activists, was arrested by security forces at his office on September 10.
Soltani is one of the cofounders, along with Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC).
He was charged with founding the center; “spreading propaganda against the regime;” and “assembly and collusion against national security.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/detained_iran_lawyer_charged_with_accepting_human_rights_award/24343819.html
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Prominent Iranian Activist Given 11-Year Sentence
The deputy head of Iran’s Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC), Narges Mohammadi, has been sentenced to 11 years in jail, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Mohammadi told Radio Farda from Tehran on September 27 that she was given five years in jail for “assembly and collusion against national security,” five years for “being a member of the Defenders of Human Rights Center,” and one year for “spreading propaganda against the regime.”
Mohammadi, 39, added that she and her lawyers have denied the charges. She said the DHRC is a legally registered institution under Iranian law.
Her sentence by the court was called a “discretionary punishment” since there is no prescribed punishment in Islamic law for her crimes.
The DHRC was founded in 2001 by Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi and lawyers Abdolfatah Soltani, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, Mohammad Seifzadeh, and Mohammad Sharif.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_prominent_lawyer_sentenced_to_11_years/24343486.html
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Hostage taking in Iran: the pawns in a battle against US imperialism
Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal would make no one’s list of prime suspects as agents of US imperialism. The three Americans – detained by Iranian security services in July 2009 on espionage charges, now all released and reunited with their families – have a clear and very real commitment to opposing US foreign policy in the Middle East, as shown by their journalism.
Indeed, as Bauer noted in a statement upon his release:”No evidence was ever presented against us [by the Iranian authorities]. That is because there is no evidence.” What then was the reason for the three being effectively taken hostage by the Iranian state? As far as Bauer is concerned, “the only explanation for our prolonged detention is the 32 years of mutual hostility between America and Iran”.
It is worth taking this opportunity to examine the origins and nature of the antagonistic US-Iranian relationship to which Bauer refers, so as to better understand how he, Shourd and Fattal seemingly became pawns in a long, ugly and dangerous contest between Washington and Tehran.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/sep/30/hosatge-us-imperialism-iranian-reactionary
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Death sentence on Christian leader Yousef Nadarkhani
An Iranian court has imposed the death sentence on Yousef Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old protestant preacher, for apostasy after he repeatedly refused to recant his Christian faith. The verdict has generated international condemnation this week. The following are excerpts from the verdict and U.S. and British reaction.
Reported excerpts from the court verdict
“He has frequently denied the prophethood of the great prophet of Islam and the rule of the sacred religion of Islam. And he has proven his apostasy by organizing evangelistic meetings and inviting others to Christianity, establishing a house church, baptizing people, expressing his faith to others and denying Islamic values.”
http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2011/sep/29/death-sentence-christian-leader-yousef-nadarkhani
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Iran: live free – and die
The proposed hanging of Youssef Nadarkhani is an outrage. It is also a terrifying glimpse of the injustice and arbitrary cruelty of the present Iranian regime
The proposed hanging of Youssef Nadarkhani is an outrage. It is also a terrifying glimpse of the injustice and arbitrary cruelty of the present Iranian regime. This paper opposes the death penalty always and everywhere, but at least when it is applied for murder or treason there is a certain twisted logic to the punishment. But Mr Nadarkhani’s crime is neither murder nor treason. He is not even a drug smuggler. He is just a Christian from the city of Rasht, on the Caspian Sea, who refuses to renounce his faith. There is a pure and ghastly theatricality at the heart of this cruel drama which goes to the heart of religious freedom.
There is no question that Mr Nadarkhani is a Christian, and an inspiringly brave one. That is, in theory, legal in Iran. The particular refinement of his persecution is that he is accused of “apostasy”. The prosecution claimed he was raised as a Muslim, which is why his present Christian faith merits death. He was convicted last year. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, the lawyer who was brave enough to defend him, was himself sentenced to nine years on trumped-up charges this summer. Both these sentences are offences against natural justice. Both were appealed. The supreme court in Tehran last week announced its judgment on one: Mr Nadarkhani might save his life if he publicly renounced Christianity. This he has twice this week refused to do. A third refusal – due at any moment – might spell his death sentence.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/sep/29/iran-live-free-die-editorial
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Iran arrests documentary film-makers.
Incl. video.
Several Iranian film-makers have been arrested in Iran since BBC Persian TV aired a documentary about the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on 17 September.
The authorities accuse them of collaborating with the channel, which is banned in Iran.
But the BBC says no-one works for the outlet inside Iran either formally or informally, and that those arrested are independent film-makers – although films made by them have appeared on the channel.
Karen Zarindast reports.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15131052
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Sale Of U.S. Bombs To Israel Raises Questions
With all the recent turmoil in the Middle East, one piece of news that has been overlooked is the revelation that the Obama administration approved the sale of 55 deep earth penetrator bombs to Israel in 2009.
The two-year-old transaction was recently reported by Newsweek. No U.S. officials have talked openly about why the bunker busters were provided to Israel but speculation falls most heavily on a single target.
“The one obvious use of these munitions that comes to mind would be a military strike against the Iranian nuclear program,” says Paul Pillar, a former senior CIA Middle East analyst who now teaches security studies at Georgetown University.
“Providing these bombs, number one, may make it more likely that Israel does that,” Pillar says. “Number two, even if they can come up with the technology themselves, this transfer could be interpreted as a green light from the United States for Israel to strike.”
http://www.npr.org/2011/09/30/140950147/sale-of-u-s-bombs-to-israel-raises-questions?ft=1&f=1003
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Iranian Pastor Sentenced to Death: Global Reaction
The imminent execution of an Iranian pastor, Youcef Nadarkhani, for the crime of apostasy (converting from Islam to Christianity) has prompted the wave of outrage and concern around the globe:
“The most recent court proceedings are not only a sham, but are contrary to Iranian law and international human rights standards, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party.”
Leonard Leo, chairman of the independent federal agency the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
“I deplore reports that Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian Church leader, could be executed imminently after refusing an order by the Supreme Court of Iran to recant his faith. This demonstrates the Iranian regime’s continued unwillingness to abide by its constitutional and international obligations to respect religious freedom. I pay tribute to the courage shown by Pastor Nadarkhani who has no case to answer and call on the Iranian authorities to overturn his sentence.”
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/222940/20110930/iranian-pastor-nadarkhani-christian-execution-global-reaction.htm
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Does America Need More Enemies? Can America Afford More Enemies? And, Where Would Iran Fit In All This?
The answer to the first question is, No; America does not need more enemies than it’s already got; and we are here referring to the Middle East, and I am including Afghanistan and Pakistan in its geography. No doubt having an enemy or enemies in that region has played a key role in formulating America’s foreign policy in the Middle East for quite some time. This has not always been so in order to serve America’s genuine self-interests, call it pragmatism, predatory capitalism or exploitive imperialism. America’s economic or strategic interests in the oil-rich region of the Middle East never needed the existence of some enemy state or states, real or imagined, to justify policies necessary to procure those interests. Whenever the situation on the ground required it, we followed the time-tested policy of buying the village-master and robbing the village – for their own good, of course!!
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1305.html
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Former Political Prisoner Nahal Sahabi Committs Suicide
Blogger and poet Nahal Sahabi, a supporter of the green opposition movement, committed suicide on the night of September 28th in Tehran. Sahabi was recently arrested along with her friends Kouhyar Goudarzi and Behnam Ganji and spent time in solitary. Sahabi and Ganji were later released, but Goudarzi remains in prison. Ganji had also committed suicide after his release. CHRR believes that the reasons for the suicides are a direct result of the psychological torture endured in solitary confinement.
Nahal Sahabi was Behnam Ganji’s firiend. According to unofficial reports, she suffered from depression after Behnam had mysteriously committed suicide a couple days after he was released from prison. Kouhyar Goudarzi is still detained incommunicado.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1299.html
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Internal State Document Exposes the Role of the Iranian TV in the Crackdown on Filmmakers
Almost two week after the arrests of documentary filmmakers Naser Safarian, Mojtaba Mir Tahmaseb, Hadi Afarideh, Mohsen Shahrnazdar and Katayoun Shahabi by intelligence and security forces in Tehran, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran acquired an internal document from the Iran’s state broadcasting network, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), revealing the network’s role in the government persecution of independent filmmakers and film critics.
The document describes filmmakers’ participation in film festivals and artistic circles outside of the country as “underground cinema” and a cause for “political-security” concerns.
Various parts of this report indicate that the plan for the crackdown on and intimidation of the independent filmmaker community was initiated in September 2009 not in September 2011, when IRIB had laid the key “theoretical” groundwork for it.
The Young Journalist Club, a semi-official news source connected to IRIB, also provided information prior to the arrests that people would be arrested by Ministry of Intelligence forces, further highlighting the IRIB’s advanced role in the crackdown on independent directors and filmmakers.
The internal document of the Political Division of IRIB, prepared on 21 October 2009, was titled “Film Festivals: the soft war and underground Iranian films.” This document includes the same charges that were brought recently against the documentarians and originally announced last week by the Young Journalists Club, and then by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the Ministry of Intelligence.
The Campaign believes that IRIB’s operations are not only aligned with those of security-intelligence forces, but that the organization acts as the media arm of the Iranian security apparatus. As discussed below, in the past decade the IRIB has time and again, by providing a theoretical framework and justification for the arrests of members of various parts of society, such as these documentarians, or by producing the “Identity” or “Light” television programs, shown itself to be inseparable from the intelligence apparatus.
IRIB conducted similar research two years ago that provided justification allowing for the possibility of a crackdown by security and intelligence forces on political activists and civil society.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1301.html
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“Suffering” in Iran Nearly Doubles to 26%
Gallup classifies respondents worldwide as “thriving,” “struggling,” or “suffering” according to how they rate their current and future lives on a ladder scale with steps numbered from 0 to 10 based on the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale.
The percentage of people suffering in Iran is in the higher range of what Gallup found worldwide in 2010, and on par with levels seen last year in Haiti (27%), Central African Republic (26%), and Cambodia (23%) and this year in Greece (25%). Additionally, 55% of Iranians are struggling, while 20% are thriving. When Gallup first measured wellbeing globally in 2005, 12% in Iran were suffering, while 64% were struggling and 24% were thriving.
Gallup research finds that significant increases in suffering or substantial decreases in thriving often can be leading indicators for civil unrest. Most recently, Gallup found considerable drops in thriving in Egypt, Tunisia, and Bahrain and a significant increase in suffering in Greece.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/149756/Suffering-Iran-Nearly-Doubles.aspx
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Iran’s War On Fun
A woman in the Iranian city of Mashad has become the latest victim of Iran’s longest standing and most unconventional war — the war against fun.
The young woman, whose name and age has not been disclosed, jumped to her death over the weekend of September 24-25 from the sixth floor of a building. The apparent reason? — escape from a raid being conducted by security forces against a mixed-gender party she was attending. Fun mixed with fear of arrest and charges proved to be a deadly cocktail.
Hadi Ghaemi from the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran believes Iranian authorities are to blame for her death saying, “These raids by security forces and police to people’s homes are clear human rights violations and attacks into people’s private lives.”
Sadly, the Mashad woman’s fate is not unique.
Precise figures are unavailable, but Ghaemi says there have been numerous cases of young people who have been killed while trying to escape police forces at party raids.
http://www.rferl.org/content/irans_war_on_fun/24346398.html
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No news of green opposition couple for 5th week
Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi and his wife Zahra Rahnavard have been completely “cut off” from the outside world and have no access to newspapers, radio or stationery for writing, a website close to the reformist leader reported on Saturday.
According to Kaleme, the couple’s family have had “no information regarding their situation or any news about their well-being,” since their last meeting with their daughters five weeks ago. “Even the very few and short telephone calls, which didn’t mount to more than five, have been cut off.”
Mousavi and fellow Green Movement leader Mahdi Karroubi were placed under house arrest after calling for opposition protests on 14 February to show support and solidarity for the uprisings of the Arab world.
The most recent news blackout regarding the condition of the Green couple has led to rising concerns among the Mousavi family and Green Movement activists.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/oct/02/3279?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+irangreenvoice%2FEn+%28Iran+Green+Voice+-+English%29
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Authorities stay silent about Kouhyar Goudarzi’s incommunicado detention and the suicides of Behnam Ganji and Nahal Sahabi
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran called for an immediate investigation into the recent suicides of two former detainees and close associates of Kouhyar Goudarzi, an activist who has been held incommunicado since his detention by intelligence forces on 31 July 2011 in Tehran’s Evin prison.
Security forces detained Goudarzi, along with several of his friends, including Behnam Ganji, 22, 31 July 2011. Another friend, Nahal Sahabi, 37, was subsequently interrogated by authorities. Ganji was subsequently released on bail while Goudarzi has remained in detention without any charges. Parvin Mokhtare, Goudarzi’s mother, was simultaneously arrested in her home in Kerman and has since been put on trial on charges including “actions against national security by interviewing with foreign media.”
“Interrogators and intelligence agents are on a rampage inside prisons and there are no constraints on their horrific treatment of prisoners,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the Campaign’s spokesperson.
Following their release, Ganji and Sahabi committed suicide on 1 September and 28 September, respectively.
“There is an urgent need to investigate what happened to Behnam Ganji and Nahal Sahabi inside prison and during their interrogations that led to their tragic suicides, and what is happening to Kouhyar Goudarzi right now,” Ghaemi added.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/oct/01/3277?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+irangreenvoice%2FEn+%28Iran+Green+Voice+-+English%29
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Rights Group: Investigate Suicides by 2 Friends of Jailed Activist
Following the suicide this past week of blogger Nahal Sahabi (pictured), the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI) called for an investigation into her death and that of Behnam Ganji, also by suicide, earlier in September. Both Sahabi and Ganji were former detainees in Tehran’s Evin Prison and close friends of human rights activist Kouhyar Goudarzi, who has been held incommunicado in Evin since the three were arrested together two months ago. Goudarzi was previously detained in December 2009 while on his way to attend the funeral of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri and last June was sentenced to a year in prison on charges centered around “gathering and circulating news directed against the regime.” In November 2010, he was named the recipient of the John Auchobon Award for press freedom by the National Press Club. According to ICHRI’s news release,
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2011/10/rights-group-investigate-suicides-by-2-friends-of-jailed-activist.html
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Iranian opposition leaders under full quarantine
All contact has been cut off with Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, the Iranian opposition leaders held under house arrest. The Kaleme opposition website reports that Mousavi and Rahnavard, who have been under house arrest since February, are now being held under complete quarantine.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/oct/1013.html
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Iran slams West full support for Israel
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the West created Israel to control the Middle East, condemning the all-out Western Support for the crimes committed by the Zionist regime.
The Iranian president made the remarks at the closing ceremony of the 5th International Conference on the Palestinian Intifada in Tehran on Sunday.
Describing the creation of Israel as the most heinous historical crime, Ahmadinejad said that occupation of Palestine was an international issue and a crime against all humanity.
The Iranian president criticized the West for not tolerating any argument which involves the existence of Israel.
He added that Israel has been so sanctified in the West that any criticism of the Zionist regime is tantamount to being a terrorist.
“The only sacred thing in Europe is the Zionist regime,” he added.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/202415.html
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Jack Chivo: Human rights activists ignore Youcet Nadarkhani and other Christians in Iran
It was a week full of “human rights” protests in Vancouver and elsewhere. Dozens gathered in front of the Jewish Community Centre, waving Palestinian flags, and signs denouncing the visit here by Israel’s foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman; hundreds more protested the lecture by former U.S. vice president Dick Cheney in front of a friendly audience.
The Georgia Straight fully reported the protests against Cheney, even the threats to arrest the former U.S. politician issued by some local lawyers, including a demand of arrest from a sitting MP, Don Davies, himself a trained lawyer. It also reported the actions around the world against the execution of a man, Troy Davis, convicted of the killing of a U.S. police officer some two decades ago.
As a matter of fact, besides the foolishness and grandstanding of requesting that the Vancouver police detain Cheney, in spite of the fact that there was never any arrest warrant for man from any local or international court—and Canada is a country of law—I do not have any problem with anyone committed to justice, in their own ways, taking to the streets to express their opinions in Vancouver or around the world, as long it is done in nonviolent manner.
What aggravates me is the total blindness toward cruel dictatorships, again proven by the lack of any activity in support of a brave Iranian pastor, Youcet Nadarkhani, age 34, who could be executed this week for the unspeakble “crime” of refusing to renounce his Christian faith.
http://www.straight.com/article-476121/vancouver/jack-chivo-human-rights-activists-ignore-youcet-nadarkhani-and-other-christians-iran
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Texas nuclear physics student on trial in Iran
An Iranian studying nuclear physics in the United States went on trial in Tehran on Tuesday for having contact with “hostile countries,” his lawyer said.
Omid Kokabi, 28, a University of Texas graduate student, was arrested at departures at Tehran airport in February. He is also charged with receiving “illicit payments,” lawyer Saeed Khalili told Reuters, calling the accusations “illogical and baseless.”
Judiciary officials were not immediately available for comment.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/04/us-iran-us-student-idUSTRE7933WA20111004?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
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Revolutionary Guards’ power grows in Iran
The recent appointment of a top commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as oil minister underlines the growing political and economic power of that elite force at a time when U.S. influence in the region is waning and U.S. forces are quitting Iraq.
“The Revolutionary Guards Corps is seizing control of all branches of government,” declared Ali Alfoneh of the American Enterprise Institute in Washington and a leading expert on the organization known in Farsi as the Pasdaran.
And there’s no sign of this ongoing accumulation of power slowing down.
One of the possible candidates to succeed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a former IRGC officer himself, in the 2013 elections is Brig. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, shadowy commander of the al-Quds Force, the covert action arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/10/04/Revolutionary-Guards-power-grows-in-Iran/UPI-14881317750753/
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Iranian MPs accuse president in fraud case
Eleven members of the Iranian Parliament have written a letter to the presiding board of Parliament, calling for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to be prosecuted for his alleged involvement in the “great financial fraud in Iranian banks.”
The Mehr News Agency reports that the letter also accuses presidential chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, Iranian Central Bank head Mahmoud Bahmani, the central bank’s deputy head, Hamid PourMohammadi, and Finance Minister Shamseddin Hosseiny.
Earlier, Ahmadinejad had dismissed all accusations directed at his government regarding the $3-billion financial fraud case, insisting that his government is “the cleanest government in the country’s history.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/oct/1035.html
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Wegen schwierigkeiten mit meine computer ein paar tagen keine berichten hinterlassen aber jetz geht es wieder.
Goedendag Henk,
“One of these days
I’m going to cut you
into little pieces” <: pink pfloyd
Ist natürlich in jeder Beziehung nicht wörtlich gemeint, jedoch werden "unsere" torks jedesmal was anderes darunter versehen, sehr aktiv – leider verstehen sie nichts!
Nichts desto Trotz … was für ein göttlicher drummer !!!
Wenn mann die Regler auf dem Pult anschaut, so sehen sie wie eine persiche Armee aus, die die torktazis unter ihre gestohlenen Kamele treibt!
Bild – Ton – Hoffnung!
Free Persia!
Sehr herzlichen dank Jack.
Es solte im jeden fall eine gute sache sein um endlich von der Torkazi und araber befreit zu werden fur die leute dar in Iran.
U.S. Threatens Measures Over Alleged Iran-Saudi Attack Plot
The United States and Saudi Arabia say Iran will face consequences for an alleged plot to kill the Saudi ambassador in Washington.
U.S. officials said on October 11 that two men linked to Iran’s security agencies had been
charged in what was described as an “international murder-for-hire scheme” directed from Iran.
Tehran dismissed the allegations as baseless.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on October 12 at a conference in Washington that Iran’s alleged ties to the plot marked a “dangerous escalation” of Tehran’s sponsorship of terrorism.
“This kind of reckless act undermines international norms and the international system. Iran must be held accountable for its actions,” Clinton said.
“In addition to steps announced by the attorney general yesterday, the United States has increased our sanctions on individuals within the Iranian government who are associated with this plot.”
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden described the plot as “an outrageous act where the Iranians are going to have to be held accountable.”
Speaking to ABC’s “Good Morning America” program on October 12, Biden said the Obama administration was working to unite world opinion behind a possible U.S. response.
http://www.rferl.org/content/us_iran_saudi_attack_plot/24357145.html
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The Iranian Connection
What’s the link between the plot to bomb the Saudi ambassador and the Gilad Shalit release deal? Iran’s looking weak — and that’s scary.
While it may not be immediately obvious, there is an important connection between the two big Middle East stories that broke Tuesday, Oct. 11 — the negotiated prisoner transfer agreement between Hamas and Israel for the release of Gilad Shalit and the arrest of Iranian Quds Force agent Manssor Arbabsiar — a connection that demonstrates Iran’s fading influence since the emergence of the Arab Spring.
Seldom is the Iranian hand in terrorism revealed as clearly as it was Tuesday in the careful details provided by the U.S. Justice Department. The Iranian regime, operating through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), does its best to operate without fingerprints as it deploys terrorism as a tool of its own brand of statecraft. But here in phone transcripts and wire transfers is evidence that “elements of the Iranian government” — specifically senior officers of the IRGC’s Quds Force — were responsible for ordering and orchestrating a brazen terrorist assassination against the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir, in a downtown Washington restaurant.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/10/12/the_iranian_connection
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What Europe Isn’t Doing to Stop Syria and Iran
As the world witnesses the Syrian and Iranian regimes commit countless human rights abuses and, in Iran’s case, move ever closer to perfecting its nuclear capabilities, there’s a common belief that, short of military intervention, there’s nothing that can be done. As it turns out, however, that’s far from the truth—but the majority of the initiative must come from Europe. The European Union has thus far failed to confront the Iranian and Syrian regimes to the full extent of its ability. Though they are loath to admit it, European countries are Iran’s and Syria’s best customers, providing the EU with significant leverage. Meaningful energy sanctions could deliver a one-two punch to Iran’s nuclear weapons program and Syrian president Bashar Al Assad’s ongoing campaign to snuff out his country’s democratic reformers.
http://www.tnr.com/article/environment-and-energy/96035/syria-bashar-iran-ahmadinejad-europe-gas
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Protests in Qom following police brutality against cleric
Protests erupted in the holy city of Qom on Tuesday after police officers allegedly beat a young cleric, a conservative news website reported.
According to the Ahlulbayt news agency, on Tuesday “a group of clerics and youth” held protests in front of a police station in the city of Qom following police brutality against a seminary student. The cleric had reportedly not been carrying his motorcycle registration when the incident occurred.
“Astonishingly,” the news agency writes, the police officer “uses a baton against the student which led to head injuries.”
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/oct/13/3311
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State Department says US in direct contact with Iran over alleged assassination plot
The State Department says the U.S. has had at least one direct conversation with Iran over allegations of a brazen assassination plot on U.S. soil.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Thursday there’s been “direct contact” between the U.S. and Iran. She gave no details.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/oct/13/3313
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Iranian lawmaker resigns to protest parliament’s failure to summon Ahmadinejad for questioning
An Iranian lawmaker has resigned to protest the parliament’s failure to summon President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for questioning over a long list of accusations, including corruption.
Ali Motahari says the parliament’s presiding council has refused to put the petition to question Ahmadinejad on its agenda.
Motahari says he is resigning because he can no longer protect the rights of the people who elected him to parliament.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/oct/12/3309
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Mothers of Killed Protesters Seek UN Support to Find Their Children’s Murderers
Only two weeks before the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran is to present his report, two mothers of the post-election 2009 victims told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that their search for the murderers of their children has not produced any results. Parvin Fahimi, mother of 19-year-old victim Sohrab Aarabi told the Campaign that if the United Nations cannot do anything in this area, “everything is over then and it’s all pointless.” “From the day Sohrab died, I said that if I cannot find answers in my own country and [if I find that] the official sources in my country are unaccountable, I would have to use international sources,” Fahimi told the Campaign.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/oct/1139.html
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Iran Assassination Plot Raises Questions
In announcing details of the alleged Iranian plot to carry out a spate of terrorist attacks in Washington, including murdering the Saudi Arabian ambassador, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder left little room for doubt.
The plot was “directed and approved by elements of the Iranian government and, specifically, senior members of the Quds Force,” Holder said, referring to the elite unit widely believed to be in charge of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) activities abroad. “High-up officials in those agencies, which is an integral part of the Iranian government, were responsible for this plot,” the attorney general went on.
Thus did Washington imply that the very highest echelons of Iran’s Islamic regime conspired to carry out a murder on U.S. soil that would have plunged the Persian Gulf and the wider Middle East into turmoil, if not all-out war.
But why would the leadership in Tehran — renowned, despite its fierce rhetoric, for acting with calculated caution — behave in what some analysts have said is a reckless fashion?
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/oct/1135.html
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Iran’s President Criticizes Lashing of Student
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has criticized the recent flogging of a student who was convicted of insulting him, a day after opposition activists say an Iranian actress was also sentenced to 90 lashes for her role in a film critical of the government.
Ahmadinejad said Tuesday he disapproved of the student’s punishment since, in his words, more “influential people can freely defame” him.
Student activist Peyman Aref received 74 lashes on Sunday for complaining about university purges in a letter to the president that the government said did not address the leader with the proper respect. Aref was sentenced to a year in prison last year for political acts against the government and he was also been banned from journalistic or political activity.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/oct/1119.html
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Who is betting on a losing horse?
What if Tehran thinks Asad doesn’t have any chance to win?
Cracks over Iran’s support for Syria
Syrian protesters remained defiant. Despite harsh crackdown, massive non-violent protests continue all across the country. On the other hand, Colonel Gaddafi’s time in Libya appears to be coming to an end, following two other successful uprisings in the Arab world, and Ali Saleh dictator of Yemen has promised to step down in the coming days; now Syrian revolutionaries are more confident than ever-before.
In the midst of riots, president Bashar Al- Asad addressed the Parliament and promised democratic reforms.
Since then, “death toll surpasses 2900 and according to UN, including at least 100 children, killed by military and security forces since mass protests erupted in mid-March,” as quoted by Kyung-wha Kang, deputy UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Opposition forces say: “it is too late to accept any reforms from Assad”. Asad’s reform proposals are sham, he just wants to maintain power.
Commentators are providing reports of Iran’s support to Baath regime of Syria. Foreign Affairs website recently reported: “In addition to sharing weapons and surveillance tools, credible reports from Syrian refugees indicate that Tehran sent its own forces to Syria to quash the protests”
I have little doubt that Iran is trying to keep president Asad in power but what if Tehran thinks Asad doesn’t have a chance to win?
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/oct/1132.html
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Iranian actress sentenced to prison and lashings
Marzieh Vafamehr, an Iranian filmmaker and actress who has been detained since last July for acting in the film My Tehran for Sale, has been sentenced to one year in jail and 90 lashes.
The Kaleme opposition website reports that Vafamehr’s lawyer has appealed the decision, and the provincial appellate court is now reviewing the case.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/oct/1098.html
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UN Human Rights Committee Sharply Criticizes Increasing Flogging Sentences in Iran
As flogging sentences issued and carried out by Iranian judges and judicial authorities are on the rise, during a meeting of the UN Human Rights Committee today in which the Iranian government’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is under review, members of the Committee sharply criticized Iranian authorities at the meeting for Iran’s use of inhumane punishments such as flogging.
According to the representative of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran who is currently at the meeting in Geneva, UN officials criticized Iran’s refusal to provide statistics about flogging sentences to the Human Rights Council while continuing to routinely dole out flogging sentences.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/oct/1205.html
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Imprisoned Iranian Lawyer Denied Visiting Privileges
Detained Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh is being denied visiting privileges for refusing to wear the chador in prison.Sotoudeh’s husband reports that last week he and his children were not allowed to visit Sotoudeh on the grounds that she had lost her visiting privileges.
Sotoudeh has refused to wear the chador on top of the regular hijab [head scarf and tunic], saying it is a violation of her rights.
Sotoudeh has indicated that political prisoners should not even be obliged to wear the usual prison uniforms given to other prisoners.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/oct/1206.html
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Persian Letters: ‘They Lash You To Say You Shouldn’t Think’
A 22-year-old, who is said to have been an outstanding student, was lashed on October 17 at Tehran’s Evin prison. Amin Niayifard was sentenced to 30 lashes for insulting President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, according to a report by the opposition Kalame website.
Niayifard was arrested in the crackdown following the 2009 presidential election and released on bail. He was jailed after an appeals court confirmed his prison sentence. According to Kalame, Niayifard is due to be released next week after completing his six-month sentence.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/oct/1202.html
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Baha’i university staff sentenced to jail
Seven members of the Baha’i online university in Iran (BIHE) have been sentenced to jail terms by the Iranian judiciary.
According to the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, Kamran Mortezai and Vahid Mahmoodi were each handed five years in prison, while Riaz Sobhani, Mahmoud Badavam, Ramin Zibayi, Farhad Sedghi and Nooshin Khadem were each sentenced to four years in prison.
The detainees have been charged with “membership in illegal groups with the intention to commit crimes against national security.” They have all appealed the decision of the court.
All seven were arrested last May, when security forces detained more than 40 staff, professors and students connected to the BIHE.
Iran’s Ministry of Science and Technology has announced that the activities of the BIHE are illegal and it has no licence to operate in Iran.
The Baha’i community formed the BIHE in Iran to overcome the discrimination Baha’i students face when pursing higher education in Iran.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/oct/1196.html
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Iran links dissident group to Saudi ambassador assassination plot
Suspect is reported to be a member of a dissident group in an apparent attempt by Tehran to distance itself from allegations
Tehran has pointed the finger at a dissident group it considers a “sworn enemy” in an attempt to distance itself from US accusations that the Islamic regime in Iran conspired to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington.
Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported that one of the two suspects the US said were involved in a plot to hire a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate Adel al-Jubeir is a “key member” of an Iranian dissident group, the People’s Mujahideen of Iran (MEK).
“The person in question has been travelling to different countries under the names of Ali Shakuri/Gholam Shakuri/Gholam-Hossein Shakuri by using fake passports, including forged Iranian passports,” according to Mehr.
Last week, the US brought charges against an American-Iranian, Mansour Arabsiar, 56, who was arrested at New York’s JFK airport on 29 September, and Gholam Shakuri, an Iranian who remains at large in Iran, according to US officials.
The pair, who the US says were the main culprits behind the alleged Iranian murder-for-hire plot, were identified in a sting operation involving the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/19/iran-dissident-saudi-ambassador-plot
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Turkey And Iran: The End Of The Affair
Tehran has reacted with anger and threats over Ankara’s decision to allow NATO to deploy a radar as part of its antimissile system.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has condemned the decision, while senior Iranian military commanders and government officials have warned of consequences.
“This is very serious, this is important for Iran, Iran does not like it,” says Iran analyst Jamsid Assadi of France’s Burgundy School of Business. “Iran is feeling very much more isolated and in danger. And if for example when I read Iranian press, especially the very conservative ones, they criticize very clearly what’s happening.”
Ankara’s decision is widely seen as a military and diplomatic victory for Washington, confirming Turkey’s commitment to its NATO partners, over its Iranian neighbor.
It’s a turn away from the trend of the past few years, when Turkey’s Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) had prioritized deepening its relations with Tehran as part of its policy of “zero problems” with its neighbors.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at one point even described Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad as a good friend of Turkey, and criticized Ankara’s Western allies for their tough stance toward Tehran over its nuclear program.
http://www.rferl.org/content/turkey_iran_end_of_the_affair/24364900.html
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UN Investigator to Present Report on Alleged Iranian Rights Abuses
The United States is urging the international community to “redouble its condemnation” of Iran for alleged human rights abuses detailed in a report to be presented to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.
U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner says the report by U.N. special investigator Ahmed Shaheed shows Iran is continuing a “brutal repression” of its citizens.
In the report, Shaheed accuses Iranian authorities of secretly executing prisoners without the knowledge of families and lawyers, and detaining political dissidents for prolonged periods, among other abuses. He based the findings largely on interviews with alleged victims of those abuses.
The U.N. Human Rights Council named the former Maldivian foreign minister as a Special Rapporteur on Iran in March, but Tehran has refused to allow him to enter the country.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/US-Accuses-Iran-of-Unabated-Brutal-Repression—–132127378.html
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ups Fight With Ahmadinejad
In the ongoing political skirmishes among Iran’s leadership, it was the equivalent of bringing out the heavy ammunition: The country’s most powerful figure warning that the post of elected president could someday be scrapped.
Although no overhauls appear on the immediate horizon after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comment — he spoke only vaguely about possibilities in the “distant future” — the mere mention of eliminating Iran’s highest elected office shows the severity and scope of the power struggle between Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
For months, the ruling theocracy has been piling pressure on Ahmadinejad and arresting his allies for attempts to challenge the near-absolute authority of the cleric-ruled system that has controlled Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The blunt words by Khamenei on Sunday suggest a twofold agenda: Further tightening the lid on Ahmadinejad and showing others in the wings that Iran’s rulers are ready to take drastic measures to protect what’s theirs.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/irans-supreme-leader-ups-fight-ahmadinejad-14767019
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Tehran’s Domestic Discontents
Iran’s response to Washington’s accusations that Tehran was involved in a bizarre assassination plot on U.S. soil discloses more about the Islamic Republic than its maladroit penchant toward violence. The reaction of Iran’s opposition as well as its establishment figures suggests a more tenuous relationship between the Islamist regime and Iranian nationalism than generally thought.
It has long been widely assumed that many Iranians, faced with foreign condemnation and escalating pressure, would rally around the flag. Yet they have not. The rupture between the regime and its people seems so fundamental that not even impudent accusations from abroad can be turned to the leadership’s advantage.
All this casts the regime’s quest for nuclear weapons in a different light. The Islamic Republic desires the bomb not so much to revive nationalist élan but to sustain its power by coercing concessions from the international community.
http://www.cfr.org/iran/tehrans-domestic-discontents/p26248?cid=rss-iran-tehran_s_domestic_discontents-102011&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+region%2Firan+%28CFR.org+-+Regions+-+Iran%29
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U.S. Denies Iran Claims That Saudi Plot Defendant Belongs to Exile Group
Obama administration officials on Wednesday denied Iranian news reports that a man charged in a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States is actually an agent of an exiled Iranian opposition group.
“We note that these reports originate solely with Iranian state media sources, which have a documented history of fabricating news stories,” said Rhonda H. Shore, a State Department spokeswoman.
American officials said they are sure that the man, Gholam Shakuri, is an officer of the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, as asserted in the criminal complaint unveiled last week by the Justice Department.
Mr. Shakuri is charged, along with an Iranian-American former used-car dealer, Mansour J. Arbabsiar, with plotting to hire a Mexican drug cartel to kill the Saudi ambassador for $1.5 million. American officials say $100,000 for the plot was transferred from a bank account associated with the Quds Force. Mr. Arbabsiar is in American custody, but Mr. Shakuri’s whereabouts are not known.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/world/middleeast/obama-administration-denies-iran-claims-that-saudi-plot-defendant-gholam-shakuri-belongs-to-exile-group.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
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U.S. fears more plots from Iran’s Quds Force
The United States believes Iran’s shadowy Quds Force is becoming increasingly aggressive overseas and may be working on other international plots beyond the alleged plan to kill Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Washington, three U.S. officials told Reuters.
U.S. allegations last week of a foiled plot in Washington have escalated tensions between the United States and Iran. They have also renewed Washington’s focus on the Quds Force, the covert operations arm of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which is believed to have sponsored attacks on U.S. targets in the Middle East — but never before in the United States.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/20/us-usa-iran-plots-idUSTRE79J0OW20111020?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
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Iran Disputes New UN Report On Abuses, Executions
Iran’s government is disputing a report by the new United Nations investigator for Iran that says human rights abuses in that country appear to be increasing.
The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, said in his first report to the UN General Assembly that more than 200 officially announced executions had taken place in Iran so far in 2011, including 83 in January alone.
Iranian Deputy UN Ambassador Eshagh al-Habib dismissed the findings as the result of manipulations by the United States and its European allies.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_disputes_un_report_on_abuses/24365303.html
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Iran Encounters Nuclear Problems
New reports by Western experts say Iran’s nuclear program is faltering because of poorly functioning equipment. But they say Iran has the capability to build at least one atomic weapon in about six months’ time, if it chose to do so. But, it is believed that Iran’s leadership has not yet decided to take that final step.
The new studies say the centrifuges Iran uses to produce enriched uranium are performing poorly. The nongovernmental Institute for Science and International Security says many of the machines at the Natanz enrichment facility are old or are breaking down repeatedly.
ISIS President David Albright, the lead author of the reports, says the mechanical problems show that international sanctions have delayed Iran’s nuclear progress.
“It can’t stop them from building a bomb or making a decision [to do so],” said Albright. “But it can slow it down, it can create inhibitions against moving in that direction, and it can just generally make it difficult for Iran to get the raw materials it needs to build large numbers of centrifuges.”
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Iran-Encounters-Nuclear-Problems-132204623.html
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Hollywood Groups Urge Release Of Iranian Filmmakers
Hollywood organizations and U.S. entertainment unions have joined together to call on Iranian authorities to release filmmakers who have been jailed and allow them return to filmmaking.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which gives out the film industry’s top awards, the Oscars; the American Society of Cinematographers; the International Documentary Association; and the American Cinema Editors group released statements on October 19 condemning the arrests of six independent filmmakers.
http://www.rferl.org/content/hollywood_urge_release_iranian_filmmakers/24365310.html
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Iran plays influential role in Middle East – Gemayel
Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel was quoted Wednesday as saying that Iran plays an influential role in the Middle East through its political and economic regional ties, and particularly with Lebanon. In an interview with the Iranian News Agency (IRNA), Gemayel voiced hope that Tehran would sponsor stability in Lebanon as well as inter-Lebanese dialogue. The former president warned that the paralysis of dialogue sessions headed by President Michel Sleiman was a negative indication that put Lebanon’s national interests at risk.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/Dec/09/Iran-plays-influential-role-in-Middle-East—Gemayel.ashx#axzz1bLrhwE3Y
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Syria crisis: Iran’s Ahmadinejad criticises killings
Swanchen spricht
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has criticised the killings in its ally Syria sparked by the government’s violent crackdown on dissent.
In his most outspoken comments yet, Mr Ahmadinejad told CNN: “Nobody has the right to kill others, neither the government nor its opponents.”
He said Iran would encourage all sides to reach an understanding, but warned the US not to intervene in Syria.
Syria has close ties with Iran, which suppressed its own protests in 2009.
Iran has also put down or prevented about a dozen protests since the wave of anti-government uprisings in the Middle East began earlier this year.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15416410
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Turkish Warplanes Bomb Rebel Bases In Iraq, Ankara Seeks Iranian Support
Turkish jets continued bombing Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq overnight on October 20-21, as Ankara sought backing from Iran in its campaign against the insurgents.
The Turkish army said in a statement on October 21 that the air and ground strikes against the rebels are “mainly” in Turkey’s Cukurca region, with a “few” in Iraq.
Since October 19, some 10,000 Turkish soldiers have been chasing rebels after they killed 24 Turkish troops in the deadliest attacks against the Turkish military since the mid-1990s.
Turkey meanwhile has sought Iran’s support on fighting Kurdish rebels.
http://www.rferl.org/content/turkish_rebels_bomb_rebel_bases_in_iraq/24367177.html
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UN Report Highlights Iran’s Secret Executions
The UN report has accused Tehran of conducting more than 300 secret executions at a prison in the country’s second-largest city without the knowledge, or presence, of the detainees’ families or lawyers.
The report, the first by the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, alleges that the executions took place at Vakilabad prison in the city of Mashhad in 2010.
The 21-page document details judiciary abuses, unauthorized detentions of political dissidents for prolonged periods, persecution of ethnic and religious minorities, extensive use of the death penalty even for crimes that would not warrant such hard punishment, and targeting of journalists who report critically on the Iranian government.
According to the report, more than 200 executions have taken place in Iran so far in 2011, including 83 in January alone. Shaheed highlighted “reports of multifarious and systemic deficits in the administration of justice.”
He said, they included “certain practices that amount to torture, cruel or degrading treatment of detainees, the imposition of the death penalty in the absence of proper judicial safeguards, the denial of reasonable access to legal counsel and adequate medical treatment.”
He said he was also concerned with “the employment of capital punishment in juvenile cases.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/un_report_highlights_irans_secret_executions/24366852.html
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Hundreds rally in support of Iranian opposition
Hundreds of people rallied outside the White House on Saturday, calling on President Barack Obama to remove an Iranian opposition group once allied with Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations.
Former Pennsylvania Govs. Tom Ridge and Ed Rendell were among speakers urging the U.S. to take the Mujahedin-e Khalq off the State Department’s list. Ridge, a Republican, was the nation’s first homeland security secretary. Rendell is a top Democrat who helped elect Obama.
“The only group that should be on the list is the country of Iran itself, under the rule of the mullahs,” Ridge said, noting recent U.S. allegations of a foiled Iranian plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Washington.
The U.S. added MEK to its terrorist list in 1997. But last year a federal court ordered the State Department to reconsider and meanwhile the group has rallied many members of Congress and former high-ranking U.S. officials to its cause.
Delisting would allow the Paris-based group to raise money and operate in the U.S., which it is currently prohibited from doing.
The MEK carried out a series of bombings and assassinations against Iran’s clerical regime in the 1980s and fought alongside Saddam’s forces in the Iran-Iraq war. But the group says it renounced violence in 2001.
http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/international/hundreds-rally-in-support-of-iranian-opposition
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Clinton warns Iran on Iraq interference
Washington – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday implicitly warned Iran not to interfere in Iraq after the decision to pull all American troops out of the war-wracked state by the end of the year.
Clinton, on a visit to Tajikistan, echoed President Barack Obama’s comments that the United States would continue to work with Iraq despite a complete military withdrawal, but urged neighbouring states to be similarly constructive.
“To countries in the region, especially Iraq’s neighbours, we want to emphasize that America will stand with our allies and friends, including Iraq, in defense of our common security and interests,” she said.
The United States would continue to have a presence in the region, which “should be free from outside interference to continue on a pathway to democracy”, Clinton added, alluding to US arch-foe Iran.
Washington has frequently accused Shiite militant groups in Iran of committing attacks in Iraq, and US officials routinely criticize Tehran for interfering in the affairs of Baghdad’s Shiite-led government.
http://www.news24.com/World/News/Clinton-warns-Iran-on-Iraq-interference-20111022-2
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Iranian activists condemn flogging sentence for actress Marzieh Vafamehr
A statement issued on behalf of 280 Iranian cultural and social activists is expressing their support for Iranian actress Marzieh Vafamehr, who has been sentenced to flogging for her role in “My Tehran for Sale.” Vafamehr has been sentenced to one year in prison and 90 lashes for playing the lead role in the film by Geranaz Mousavi.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/oct/1233.html
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Are Millions Of Iranians Criminals?
Yes, according to an announcement by Iranian Telecommunications Minister Reza Taghipour, who says the use of antifiltering tools and virtual private networks (VPN) is a crime.
Many Iranians use such tools and proxies on a daily basis to bypass the country’s Internet censorship, which is among the world’s toughest. Iran blocks millions of websites and blogs deemed immoral or against the country’s national interests or that offer uncensored news and information.
One of the blocked websites is Facebook, which is used by 17 million Iranians, according to statistics from a Basij militia official.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_internet_antifiltering_tools_censorship/24370376.html
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Ahmadinejad urges Libyans to unite against West
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday urged the Libyan people to work together to prevent Western powers from taking control of their country and plundering its wealth.
“Their first objective is to take control of Libya and (then) attempt to impose non-revolutionary and non-popular rulers on its people,” he said in a speech broadcast live on state television from South Khorasan province.
“NATO forces intervened under the pretext of helping Libyans … and have turned Libya into ruins … and under the pretext of reconstructing Libya, they want to plunder its wealth,” Ahmadinejad said.
Iran supported the Libyan revolt against Moamer Kadhafi but strongly denounced the military intervention of NATO that led to the victory of the insurrection.
Ahmadinejad said he was certain that Libyans would “stand in unity and expel” Western powers.
http://www.canada.com/news/Ahmadinejad+urges+Libyans+unite+against+West/5602042/story.html
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Iran’s Mourning Mothers of Park Laleh, Return to the Park
We ask all International Human Rights NGO’s, where in Mr. Ahmed Shaheed’s report, is the story of all the martyrs of the last 33 years and the mistreatment and degradation their mothers and supporters were subjected to?
On another autumn Saturday afternoon, Mothers of Park Lalehshowed up in their park and in a silent protest circled the Aabnama(fountain) square, amid the shocked and bewildered crowd present in the park. They had returned to their meeting place this time, not in their usual black outfits, rather dressed in an array of colors symbolizing a renewed hope and rekindled exuberance for continuing the fight for their demands. They know with conviction that they must tread the treacherous road to freedom as the dreams they so strongly believe in, lie ahead.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/oct/1278.html
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Top U.S. Treasury Official In Europe For Talks On Sanctioning Iranian Central Bank
“Iran needs to be held accountable for this plot.”
That is the message being delivered this week in Europe by David Cohen — the U.S. Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence and the man responsible for overseeing sanctions against Iran — in the wake of an alleged plot by the Persian Gulf country to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador on U.S. soil.
The official’s first stop was London, where Cohen met with British officials on October 24 to discuss potential new sanctions against Iran in response to the plot.
From there, Cohen is taking his message to Berlin, Paris, and Rome.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/oct/1280.html
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Iran parliament set to question Ahmadinejad over fraud case, corruption, in blow to prestige
Iran’s parliament is set to summon President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for questioning over an economic scandal and his polices after the required number of lawmakers signed a petition Sunday, the latest salvo in a long battle between the president and his rivals.
Ahmadinejad would be the first president to be hauled before the Iranian parliament, a serious blow to his standing in a the conflict involving the president, lawmakers and Iran’s powerful clerics.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/iran-parliament-set-to-question-ahmadinejad-over-fraud-case-corruption-in-blow-to-prestige/2011/10/30/gIQA6FgiVM_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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Report: US Plans Post-Iraq Buildup in Gulf
The New York Times newspaper reports the United States is negotiating with Kuwait to allow American combat troops to be based in the Persian Gulf area after completing the announced withdrawal from Iraq by the end of this year.
The report says the talks are part of U.S. plans to boost its military presence in the Gulf so the United States is able to respond quickly in the event of a collapse of security in Iraq or a military confrontation with Iran.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Report-US-Plans-Post-Iraq-Buildup-in-Gulf-132877903.html
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Iranian actress released from jail
Marzieh Vafamehr, who appeared in a film critical of Iran’s repressive policies, has had her harsh sentence lifted
An Iranian court has overturned the lashing sentence imposed an an actor after she appeared in a film critical of the Islamic republic’s repressive policies, according to Amnesty International.
Marzieh Vafamehr, who appeared with her head uncovered in the film My Tehran for Sale, was released from prison after her sentence of one year in prison and 90 lashes was overturned on appeal.
Amnesty said Vafamehr was released on Monday night, although there has been no report on her case in Iranian media.
Vafamehr, wife of the acclaimed film-maker Nasser Taghvai, was arrested in July after Iranian authorities took exception to the film about an actor whose theatre work is banned in Iran.
The film, directed by Granaz Moussavi, features Vafamehr as an actor who flees to Australia as an illegal immigrant after being persecuted in Iran. She appears with a shaved head and without a hijab in some scenes.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/29/iranian-actress-freed-from-jail
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Iran’s Largest Banks Swindled Out Of $2.6 Billion
A bank fraud scandal of unprecedented proportions is shaking domestic politics in Iran.
Several of Iran’s largest banks have been swindled out of an estimated $2.6 billion. The scandal has sparked a widening investigation with more than 30 arrests so far. It has also led to charges that some of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s closest advisers were involved.
On its face, it appears it was easy for some of Iran’s most important bankers to steal so much money.
All they did was secure falsified letters of credit from several key banks, and money started flowing into the accounts of an investment firm and out of Iran, says Muhammad Sahimi, a writer for the website Tehran Bureau.
The hard-liners around Ayatollah Khamenei have been trying to link this to [President] Ahmadinejad’s group.
- Journalist Muhammad Sahimi
“Bank Melli and Bank Saderat, which are two important banks in Iran, were used to open huge lines of credit without presenting any assets to, you know, back up those line of credits,” Sahimi says. “And these line of credits were played against each other to get in some sort of Ponzi scheme.”
http://www.npr.org/2011/10/27/141729872/irans-largest-banks-swindled-out-of-2-6-billion?ft=1%26f=1009
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Clinton: US confused by ‘power struggle’ in Iran
US efforts to reach out to Iran have been hurt by confusion over who is running the country, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has told BBC Persian.
“We’re not quite sure who makes decisions anymore inside of Iran,” she said.
Mrs Clinton said that she believes the country is morphing into a military dictatorship.
The door remains open, however, for talks with Tehran on its nuclear program.
She said the State Department was planning to open a “virtual embassy” by the end of 2011, to give Iranians online information about visas and student exchange programs.
The United States, which has imposed sanctions on Iran, broke formal ties with the country in 1980.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15470909
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IRAN AND THE GULF MILITARY BALANCE
Center for Strategic & International Studies
PDF File.
http://csis.org/files/publication/111027_Iran_Gulf_Military_Balance.pdf
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Marine Commander Links 1983 Bomb and 2011 Plot
The following is an excerpt from testimony by Col. Timothy J. Geraghty, USMC (retired) on Oct. 26 before the Joint Subcommittee Hearing: Iranian Terror Operations on American Soil. Geraghty was commander of the Marine peacekeepers in Lebanon.
October 23, 2011 marked the twenty-eighth anniversary of the beginning of an asymmetrical war waged by radical Islamists against the United States and its allies. It was on that day in 1983 during the Lebanese civil war that coordinated suicide truck bombings in Beirut killed 241 American peacekeepers under my command, as well as 58 French peacekeepers. These atrocities lead to the withdrawal of the Multinational Force from Lebanon and to major changes in U.S. national policy. Since then, radical Islamism has evolved into the major national security threat to Western civilization.
Perhaps the most significant development that grew out of the Beirut peacekeeping mission was the ascent of Iran into becoming a major player, not only in the region but also globally…Some of the key leaders who are implementing the Iranian mullahs’ aggressive policies are worth closer scrutiny. Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar, a veteran commander of the 150,000-man IRGC, was named minister of defense in August 2005. In 1983, he was commander of the IRGC contingent in Lebanon and was directly responsible for the Beirut truck bombings.
[President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad’s fiercely disputed reelection in 2009 also reveals another connection with IRGC in Lebanon. His selection as the new minister of defense, Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, also participated in the 1983 Beirut bombings and later succeeded Najjar as commander of the IRGC contingent. He founded the elite Quds Force of the IRGC, serving as its first commander. He currently is on Interpol’s most wanted list, the Red Notices, for the bombings in Buenos Aires of the Israeli Embassy in 1992 killing twenty-nine and the Jewish Community Cultural Center in 1994 killing eighty-six. Vahidi was linked by the European Union to Iran’s nuclear activities and its development of nuclear weapons delivery systems while overseeing the research and development of WMDs. Vahidi’s assignment and background lays out a bloody roadmap of Iranian intentions. It also provides a deeper understanding as to why Iran has retained the dubious distinction for over a quarter century of being the world’s leading state-sponsor of terrorism…
http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2011/oct/26/marine-commander-links-1983-bomb-and-2011-plot
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Is Ahmadinejad’s team planning a military coup in Iran?
The fundamentalist movement in Iran close to the supreme leader of the Islamic republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has criticized president Mahmud Ahmadinejad and his close circle, referring to it as “the perverted team,” of planning a military coup in a bid to take full control of the country.
Newspapers in Iran have spilled a lot of ink about what is going on in the country, especially after Daoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president’s brother, declared that the so-called perverted team might resort to the military option soon.
The Iranian press has raised the following questions: Will Ahmadinejad resort to a military coup? Will division and inner conflict between Ahmadinejad’s supporters and opponents take over the Revolutionary Guard? Or will the Bassij and the Revolutionary Guard enter into confrontation for Ahmadinejad’s sake?
These questions were raised after Daoud Ahmadinejad pointed to the intentions of the “perverted team” to lead a military coup d’état without identifying the side he was talking about.
The term “perverted team” was used for the first time by the fundamentalist movement to designate the people close to the president’s brother. Did Daoud mean by the “perverted movement” the reformists who demonstrated in the streets after the presidential elections results had been published, in June 2009, to protest the reelection of Mahmud Ahmadinejad for a second presidential term?
Furthermore, press outlets in Iran reported that the president’s brother has referred to secret talks held few weeks ago in Machhed city between members of Ahmadinejad’s government and a number of leaders in the Revolutionary Guard and to which he personally assisted with a group of observers from the supreme leader’s office.
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/10/30/174443.html
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Freed Iran actress avoids 90 lashes
An Iranian actress has escaped the lash after a court reduced her punishment for appearing in a movie critical of the regime, Amnesty International reported yesterday.
Marzieh Vafamehr’s sentence was cut to three months detention and a $1,000 fine. She will not face the 90 lashes imposed by a lower court.
Vafamehr spent four months behind bars before being freed last week.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/freed_iran_actress_avoids_lashes_8nkccQ7pLGVlUfYFCTcRiI#ixzz1cJ62n2hM
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Analysts Believe Israel is Moving Closer to Iran Strike
Haaretz is reporting a new diplomatic initiative by Israel to convince Western countries to increase sanctions on Iran. The work comes ahead of an IAEA report to be released on November 8, which is expected to detail the scope of Iran’s nuclear program and submit evidence that Iran is attempting to build a nuclear bomb:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/11/analysts-believe-israel-is-moving-closer-to-iran-strike/247666/
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Iran’s Internal Political Fray
In recent months, Iranian domestic politics have been dominated by sharp disagreements within the conservative camp that put President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad “and his tight group of advisers or supporters in conflict with all other institutions of the Islamic republic,” says Iran expert Farideh Farhi. The conflict stemming from protests after 2009′s disputed reelection of Ahmadinejad has been managed “but not resolved through severe repression of the Green Movement,” and could depress voter turnout on the March 29, 2012, parliamentary elections. A new multibillion-dollar banking scandal is suspected to involve highly placed officials within Ahmadinejad’s government. Farhi sees little likelihood of a dialogue between Iran and the United States any time soon, contending the United States cannot engage and threaten at the same time. “In order to have a conversation with Iran, there has to be not only change of conduct on the part of the Iranian government but also a change of conduct on the part of the American government,” Farhi says.
http://www.cfr.org/iran/irans-internal-political-fray/p26387?cid=rss-iran-iran_s_internal_political_fray-110111&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+region%2Firan+%28CFR.org+-+Regions+-+Iran%29
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Turkey’s Rising Clout Leaves Iran Fuming on Sidelines of Arab Spring
Once friends, Turkey and Iran are finding that their reactions to the Arab Spring revolutions are driving them apart and renewing an old regional rivalry.
One sign of the deepening divide was obvious from the attendee list for an international conference on Afghanistan security that opened today in Istanbul.
Every primary player is here: 14 regional nations, with the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan in attendance, as well as more than a dozen other countries, including the United States. But Iran had planned to send just its low-ranking deputy foreign minister, despite its long border with Afghanistan and claims of being a regional superpower.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/1102/Turkey-s-rising-clout-leaves-Iran-fuming-on-sidelines-of-Arab-Spring
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A Big Week Coming on the Israel-Iran Front
A report by the UN’s nuclear watchdog due to be circulated around the world next week will provide fresh evidence of a possible Iranian nuclear weapons programme, bringing the Middle East a step closer to a devastating new conflict, say diplomats.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/11/a-big-week-coming-on-the-israel-iran-front/247789/
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Is Britain Preparing to Attack Iran?
If this report in the Guardian is true, or even something close to true, there are various Arab princes (and one Israeli prime minister) who are very happy today:
Britain’s armed forces are stepping up their contingency planning for potential military action against Iran amid mounting concern about Tehran’s nuclear enrichment programme, the Guardian has learned.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/11/is-britain-preparing-to-attack-iran/247805/
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Satire in Iran
Mocking the mullahs
THEIR irreverent sense of humour is a source of pride to Iranians, a way to puncture the gloom of successive repressive regimes. It is no surprise that a satirical television programme called “Parazit” that delights in skewering Iran’s politicians is going down a storm.
“Parazit”, meaning “static” in Persian, itself a dig at the government’s tendency to block seditious broadcasts, came on the air shortly before the disputed presidential election of 2009. It is produced by Voice of America (VOA), the state-funded international broadcaster. Despite—or perhaps because of—its tie to the Great Satan, the programme has proved enormously popular in Iran.
http://www.economist.com/node/21536654?fsrc=rss%7Cmea
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Iran’s politics
President v supreme leader
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is fighting tooth and nail to keep his presidency
THE feud between Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is becoming increasingly bitter and public. Mr Khamenei has hinted that he may abolish the presidency altogether, replacing it with an honorary post elected by members of parliament rather than directly by the people. It was a pointed reminder that the supreme leader has the final say.
Mr Ahmadinejad seems reluctant to take the hint. He responded with a defiant speech of his own, declaring that anyone who defied the will of the Iranian people would be “destroyed”. Months of simmering mistrust had already boiled over in April when Mr Ahmadinejad sacked Heydar Moslehi, Iran’s intelligence minister, only to see him promptly reinstated by the supreme leader.
Mr Ahmadinejad is fighting his corner with tenacity. But his support has been ebbing. The recent exposure of a banking fraud involving $2.6 billion may have fatally weakened his grip on the presidency. Several of his close allies are implicated. His opponents scent blood.
http://www.economist.com/node/21536660?fsrc=rss%7Cmea
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Iran warns US to avoid clash over nuclear programme
Iranian foreign minister says America has ‘lost its wisdom and prudence’ as tensions mount over Tehran’s enrichment efforts
Iran has warned the US not to set the two countries on a collision course over Tehran’s nuclear enrichment programme, as diplomatic tensions reflected growing concern that the Middle East might be on the verge of new conflict.
The Iranian foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, spoke amid reports that the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has been trying to rally support within his country for an attack.
The Guardian revealed that the UK was advancing contingency plans for joining American forces in a possible air and sea campaign against military bases in Iran.
The revelations led to Nato insisting on Thursday that it would play no part in any military action, and provoked the rebuke from Salehi, who insisted that any attack by either Israel or the US would provoke immediate retaliation. He also accused Washington of recklessness.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/03/iran-warns-us-clash-nuclear
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Iran’s nuclear ambitions have already started a war with west – a covert one
A secret campaign of surveillance, sabotage, cyberattacks and assassinations has slowed but not stopped Tehran’s programme
The covert war on Iran’s nuclear programme was launched in earnest by George Bush in 2007. It is a fair assumption that the western powers had been trying their best to spy on the Islamic Republic since the 1979 Iranian revolution, but the 2007 “presidential finding” put those efforts on a new footing.
Bush asked Congress to approve $400m for a programme of support for rebel ethnic groups, as well as intelligence gathering and sabotage of the nuclear programme. Part of that effort involved slipping defective parts such as centrifuge components into the black market supply to Iran, designed to blow apart while in operation and in so doing bring down all the centrifuges in the vicinity. The UK, Germany, France and Israel are said to have been involved in similar efforts. Meanwhile, western intelligence agencies stepped up their attempt to infiltrate the programme, seeking to recruit Iranian scientists when they travelled abroad.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/03/iran-nuclear-ambitions-secret-war
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Your Latest Iran Nuclear Round-Up
Most people outside of Israel don’t seem to realize this, but there’s a full-on crisis over there about plans — or non-plans — to bomb Iran’s nuclear program. I’ll round-up more of this news as it comes over the transom, but this struck me as particularly interesting: Polls by Haaretz show that the Israeli public is split on the matter. On the issue of the attack itself, the results are split with 41% of Israelis (both Arabs and Jews) in favor of a strike, 39% against it, 20% undecided. Most definitively, 80% of Israelis believe that a strike on Iran will draw Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon into a war with Israel, with 59% responding that scenario playing out would be highly likely, the other 21% responding that it would be only fairly likely.
However, to Prime Minister Netanyahu, this last scenario is much less interesting. In his view, the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Iran would inevitably draw Israel into conflict with Hamas and Hezbollah because both groups would be able to operate more freely against Israel with a nuclear Iran behind them. From my cover story in the Atlantic last September:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/11/your-latest-iran-nuclear-round-up/247833/
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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: the last president of Iran?
Ahmadinejad has brought pain to many, yet plans to abolish Iran’s presidency would be a crushing blow to democracy
The elections that gave Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second term as president of Iran in 2009 caused so much turmoil that finding a way to prevent a repetition has become essential for the Islamic republic.
Two years from the next vote in 2013 – when Ahmadinejad would not be able to run for a third term according to the constitution – some Iranian politicians have come up with a rather radical solution: to abolish the presidency itself.
Initial thoughts on such a move came from a member of parliament, Hamidreza Katouzian, who was quoted by local news agencies as saying: “A notion has been recently discussed among the country’s political commentators, that in a country blessed with the supreme leader, there is no need for a president.”
Katouzian, a Tehran MP, even went as far as elaborating on the new political system: “As for the head of the government, the country can have a prime minister appointed by the parliament.”
Iran has not had a prime minister since 1989, but scrapping the post of directly elected president and instead restoring that of prime minister – appointed by the parliament rather than directly elected – would kill two birds with one stone.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/04/mahmoud-ahmadinejad-last-president-iran
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Ex-Mossad Chief: Radical-Right Jews More Dangerous than Iran
A former chief of Israel’s intelligence service, the Mossad, says that ultra-orthodox Jews in Israel pose more of a threat to the Jewish state than Iran. Ephraim Halevy pooh-poohed the threat from Iran, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak were said to be rounding up support for a unilateral attack on Iran. Halevy said Iran is “far from posing an existential threat to Israel.”
http://www.thenation.com/blog/164424/ex-mossad-chief-radical-right-jews-more-dangerous-iran
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Russia: Israeli threat of strikes on Iran ‘a mistake’
Military action against Iran would be a “very serious mistake fraught with unpredictable consequences”, Russia’s foreign minister has warned.
Sergei Lavrov said diplomacy, not missile strikes, was the only way to solve the Iranian nuclear problem.
His comments come after Israeli President Shimon Peres said an attack on Iran was becoming more likely.
The UN’s atomic watchdog is expected to say this week that Iran is secretly developing a nuclear arms capability.
Diplomats say the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report, due for release on Tuesday or Wednesday, will produce compelling evidence that Iran will find hard to dispute.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15617657
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In Iran, longtime ‘reformers’ stifle true revolution
The common view is that violent repression shut down Iran’s peaceful Green Movement in 2009, when protesters took to the streets over rigged presidential elections. But Iran’s entrenched ‘reformers’ deserve much of the blame. And they still stand in the way of change.
A wave of revolution is sweeping through the Middle East. But not in Iran, whose people tried their own uprising two years ago and failed.
The common view is that mass arrests, violent repression, and a telecommunications blackout shut down the peaceful Green Movement in 2009, when protesters took to the streets over rigged presidential elections. But Iran’s own “reformers” deserve much of the blame. And they still stand in the way of change.
By reformers, I don’t mean the wide swath of Iranians who demanded their vote be counted. I am referring to those who participated in the 1979 revolution to overthrow the shah, and who are – or have been – part of the strict theocratic regime that emerged. The revolution was led, in part, by democrats, but went hard-line after a violent coup.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/1107/In-Iran-longtime-reformers-stifle-true-revolution?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fcsm+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+%7C+All+Stories%29
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That IAEA Report on Iran
Iran may be building an atomic bomb, or at least developing all the technology needed to do so, but there are at least two components of the soon-to-be-released report from the International Atomic Energy Agency that deserve skeptical treatment.
The first, initially reported by the Washington Post, involves is certain to revive memories of Colin Powell’s 2003 address to the UN Security Council, in which he presented detailed evidence, including photographs, of what he said were mobile laboratories used by Iraq to develop biological weapons. No such labs existed. In this case, the Post reports, the IAEA has “acquired satellite photos of a bus-size steel container” used to field test “the kinds of high-precision conventional explosives used to trigger a nuclear chain-reaction.” The IAEA may be right, but those photographs ought to raise hackles among experts who were burned once, and badly, over Iraq’s nonexistent WMD program.
The second questionable piece of evidence involves aid reportedly provided to Iran by a former Soviet nuclear scientist. Reports the Post today:
http://www.thenation.com/blog/164437/iaea-report-iran
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Iran used foreign expertise for atom work: diplomats
A U.N. nuclear watchdog report is expected to show concern that Iran benefited from foreign expertise to help develop technology that could be used to build atomic bombs, Western officials said on Monday.
Tehran is “clearly trying to reach out to nuclear scientists around the world,” a Western diplomat accredited to the U.N. agency in Vienna said, suggesting it was a case of Iran contacting individuals rather than their governments.
Other Western officials painted a similar picture of suspected foreign involvement in providing know-how for activities seen as geared to developing a nuclear weapons capability, but it was unclear how extensive it had been.
The Washington Post reported that Iran has received assistance from experts abroad, including a former Soviet weapons scientist, to overcome technical hurdles in mastering the critical steps needed to build nuclear weapons.
The Vienna-based diplomat said concern that Iran had tried to work with foreign scientists was likely to be reflected in a keenly awaited report this week by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. atomic body.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/07/us-nuclear-iran-foreign-idUSTRE7A641620111107?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
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An imminent Israeli strike on Iran nuclear program? Not likely.
Israel’s fear of a nuclear Iran is deeply felt, and an IAEA report this week could add to it. But it’s still hard to see a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities any time soon.
Leaked portions of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report scheduled for release tomorrow indicate that Iran’s nuclear program is closer to a weapon than previously suspected by the watchdog.
In the run-up to the release there’s been plenty of breathless speculation about whether Israel is planing to take matters into their own hands and bomb Iran. Yesterday, Israeli President Shimon Peres called Iran “the greatest danger, both for Israel and for the entire world.” There’s been a furious Israeli public debate over a possible air attack on Iranian nuclear facilities for the past week, and US officials have been sending up smoke signals that they’re worried about it.
The Russians have been more direct. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today that an air strike “would be a very serious mistake fraught with unpredictable consequences.”
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Backchannels/2011/1107/An-imminent-Israeli-strike-on-Iran-nuclear-program-Not-likely?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fcsm+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+%7C+All+Stories%29
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Russia Cautions Against Strike On Iran Amid Israeli Warnings
Tensions continued to rise ahead of a report in which the UN atomic watchdog is expected to publish fresh evidence suggesting that Iran is seeking to build a nuclear weapon.
Tehran has accused Israel and the United States of seeking world support for a military strike on its nuclear facilities, which Russia warned would be “a very serious mistake.”
The comments came after Israeli President Shimon Peres said that an attack on Iran was increasingly likely.
http://www.rferl.org/content/russia_iran_military_strike/24383546.html
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Tehran Says Upcoming IAEA Report Based On ‘Counterfeit’ Claims
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said in comments published today that a crucial upcoming IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear program is based on “counterfeit” claims.
The report is expected to be released to members of the International Atomic Energy Agency on November 8 or 9.
Diplomats at the UN nuclear watchdog say the report alleges Iran did theoretical modeling on nuclear warheads and is developing missiles to carry them.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_iaea_salehi_counterfeit_claims_nuclear_weapon/24382673.html
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UN Body Expresses Concern Over Iran’s Human Rights Record
The UN Human Rights Committee has voiced concerns over Iran’s record on guaranteeing the rights of religious and ethnic minorities as well as the rising number of executions in the country.
http://www.rferl.org/content/un_body_expresses_concern_over_irans_human_rights_record/24381075.html
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U.S. Hangs Back as Inspectors Prepare Report on Iran’s Nuclear Program
An imminent report by United Nations weapons inspectors includes the strongest evidence yet that Iran has worked in recent years on a kind of sophisticated explosives technology that is primarily used to trigger a nuclear weapon, according to Western officials who have been briefed on the intelligence.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/world/middleeast/us-hangs-back-as-inspectors-prepare-report-on-irans-nuclear-program.html?src=mv&ref=world
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Will Israel attack Iran’s nuclear capabilities?
The final decision will depend on the confidence of the Israeli military and intelligence leadership that it can destroy Iran’s retaliatory capability through a pre-emptive strike, says B Raman.
A PSYWAR (psychological warfare) has been mounted from Israel regarding the strong likelihood and imminence of an attack on Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities should the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna [ Images ] report –as it is widely expected to— that Iran has repaired the damages suffered by the computer network of its enrichment complex as a result of a virus (Stuxnet) allegedly planted by the Israeli intelligence and has resumed its enrichment operations full steam with the objective of acquiring weapons grade enrichment capability.
Such a report would mean that Israel’s sabotage operations to paralyse the enrichment facilities on which it was relying as an alternative to direct military strikes have failed to produce the desired results leaving it with no other option but direct military strikes to destroy the enrichment facilities that Iran has built up.
Should Israel undertake a military strike and if so, when? This question is being debated now in Israeli political, military and intelligence circles. It is apparent that any Israeli military strike may have to be unilateral because the West—-including the US— are not prepared to support a military strike. They feel that paralysing sanctions should be given an opportunity to force Iran to see reason and make Iran give up its plans for achieving a capability for weapons grade enrichment.
http://www.rediff.com/news/report/will-israel-attack-irans-nuclear-capabilities/20111107.htm
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Russia and China warn America against Iran strike as tensions rise ahead of damning atomic agency report
Fears mount that Iran could be ‘nuclear ready’ in a matter of months
UN intelligence suggests Iran was helped by foreign experts – including rogue Russian scientist
Russia foreign minister says any military action would be a ‘serious mistake’
Condoleezza Rice: ‘We must do everything we can to bring Iran down’
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remains defiant
Russia and China have expressed growing concern about a possible American military strike against Iran over its nuclear programme.
And this week the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is to publish a damning report with ‘compelling evidence’ that Iran is secretly building an arsenal of nuclear warheads.
Fresh details suggest that Iran could even be ‘nuclear ready’ within months.
And laying bare the disturbing extent of the country’s atomic weapons programme will increase calls in the United States for pre-emptive action against the Islamic state.
And that plays into the hands of Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is said to be pushing for an airstrike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2058579/Russia-China-warn-America-Iran-nuclear-strike-tensions-rise.html
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Iranian Political prisoners warn against participating in “illegal” elections
Thirty-six Iranian political prisoners have issued a statement calling on “the Green Movement and the reformists” to support the elections only if they are “open and free” and in any other case to refrain from allowing their participation to “legitimize an illegal election process.”
In an announcement issued on Saturday November 5, the prisoners refer to the Iranian Parliament as a “sham” akin to the Egyptian Parliament during the rule of former president Hosni Mubarak.
“For a long time, the blatant interference of the government, and especially that of security and military forces, have turned elections into an elaborately staged show” the political prisoners write. “And the resulting Parliament has become a sham parliament, one that is even unable to defend its own rights and to ascertain the execution of its own legislation.”
The prisoners continue: “Parliament has been humiliated on several occasions by the executive branch, and the president and has remained silent in the face of all attacks against the rights of its representatives.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/nov/1058.html
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Obama, Erdogan Find Shared Interests
Only last year, U.S.-Turkish relations were in tumult, with disagreements on a number of issues — such as Turkey’s relations with Israel and how to deal with Iran’s nuclearization — undermining Washington’s historical bond with Ankara.
Today, however, the United States and Turkey are on a honeymoon, with President Obama and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan having formed what is probably the best relationship between a U.S. president and a Turkish prime minister in decades. The shifting political winds across the Middle East are also bringing Turkey and the United States closer than they have been since their falling-out in 2003 over the Iraq war.
Obama and Erdogan seem to have really hit it off: Turkish media outlets reported that after Erdogan’s mother died last month, Obama was among the world leaders who called him and that the two “spoke for 45 minutes about their feelings.” This personal rapport is the foundation of the new U.S.-Turkish relationship.
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC06.php?CID=1753
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Iran’s Nuclear Program: “Credible” Evidence of “Continuing” Work on a Bomb
The much-anticipated International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iran has been released with a damning indictment: “The Agency has serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear programme” and that credible information “indicates that Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device…and that some activities may still be continuing” (read a PDF of the report).
Of equal concern is the IAEA’s judgment that Iran’s work on its Shahab-3 missile “concluded that any payload option other than nuclear…could be ruled out.” The report notes that when Iran was challenged on this, it dismissed the evidence as being “an animation game.” Tehran has consistently denied that its nuclear program is intended for military purposes. The report should help Washington, using diplomatic and economic sanctions, to force Iran to fully explain its nuclear program and to curtail its military dimensions.
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC06.php?CID=1751
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Powers nearing deal on IAEA Iran resolution
World powers are narrowing their differences and getting closer to an agreement on how to respond to a U.N. watchdog report that aired intelligence suggesting Iran has been working on designing a nuclear weapon, Western diplomats said Wednesday.
They said officials from the six big powers — the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain — were in intense talks on drafting a resolution on Iran for a November 17-18 board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“I’m even more optimistic now,” one diplomat said, suggesting a text that all six could agree on should be ready in time for the two-day meeting of the 35-nation IAEA board.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/16/us-nuclear-mideast-iaea-idUSTRE7AF1IM20111116?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
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Is Iran already under covert attack?
Assassinations of nuclear scientists, a sophisticated cyber-attack, and now, last weekend, a mysterious blast at a munitions base that has killed the “godfather” of Iran’s ballistic missile programme.
The explosion at the Bid Ganeh base was so powerful, it killed 17 Revolutionary Guards Corps soldiers and rattled windows in Tehran several miles away.
Iran says it was an accident, but few who follow events there are convinced.
The recent talk may be all about a future, desperate last-ditch military strike by Israel to destroy Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons programme, but to all appearances, a covert “black ops” campaign to disrupt it has already been under way for some time.
At least three Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed in the past two years, and last winter, a computer virus codenamed Stuxnet was introduced into Iran’s nuclear enrichment centrifuges, causing havoc and setting back the programme by several months.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15741989
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This Should Be the Beginning, Not the End, of Israel’s Negotiations With Hamas
For over a quarter of a century Prime Minister Netanyahu had promised, boldly and unequivocally, both in writing and in speech, that he would never make any concessions to terrorists. Now, in one fell swoop, with the negotiated release of Gilad Shalit, all that is gone. The Prime Minister himself cast it as a momentous choice, an instance of decisive and historic leadership.
But the reason Netanyahu that gave for his decision, namely that “circumstances had changed”, betrays considerably more anxiety. Indeed, the phrase is marked by its very passivity, and an unmistakable suggestion that Israel was reacting to shifts in the region. Of course, the more operative question right now is not what motivated Israel to negotiate, but rather how much the experience of negotiations will now motivate Israel. Yes, “circumstances had changed,” but it’s more important to consider the role Israel should play in shaping regional circumstances going forward.
http://www.tnr.com/article/world/96457/gilad-shalit-release-netanyahu-hamas-negotiations
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Is an Attack on Iran’s Nuclear Program a Bad Idea?
Yes, an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites is a bad idea. So is the idea of an Iran with nuclear weapons. Hence, a dilemma.
James Fallows has a characteristically thoughtful post up about the latest Iran brouhaha, and comes to the conclusion (actually, he came to the conclusion quite some time ago) that bombing Iranian nuclear sites — either by America, Israel, or some combination of states to be named later — is a bad idea. We don’t really disagree on this basic point. I think it would be reckless for either Israel or America to try to preempt by force the Iranian nuclear program now (as I wrote in this column, it would be smart to continue, and intensify, the sabotage programs that have already apparently slowed-down the Iranians, and tightening sanctions on Iranian banks, in particular, might have some impact). I tend to think now that an Israeli strike would be very ineffective and dangerous no matter what point in the future it is launched, in part because Israel’s capabilities are so much more limited than America’s.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/11/is-an-attack-on-irans-nuclear-program-a-bad-idea/248148/
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Obama and Netanyahu Need to Fix Their Relationship Quickly
President Obama’s open-mic slip the other day — in which he responded to President Sarkozy’s bitching about Benjamin Netanyahu by saying, in essence, that Netanyahu is a pain in the ass — falls in the category of truths that journalists like to repeat — and should repeat — but nevertheless make the world a more difficult place, once that particular truth is unleashed.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/11/obama-and-netanyahu-need-to-fix-their-relationship-quickly/248493/
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That’s right, Iceman. I am dangerous
A game-changing report by the UN’s nuclear watchdog could be the prelude to a strike on Iran. Or maybe not.
WESTERN governments have long been convinced that Iran is pursuing military objectives with its secretive nuclear programme. But until this week the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), jealous of its credibility as a non-political, science-led body, said it had no unambiguous proof of Iran’s intention to build a bomb. A report it published on November 8th still falls just short of that proof, but nonetheless marks a watershed.
The IAEA’s report says that it “has serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear programme. After assessing carefully and critically the extensive information available to it, the agency finds the information to be, overall, credible… that Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device.”
http://www.economist.com/node/21538177?fsrc=rss%7Cmea
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Leon Panetta warns against Iran strike
US defence secretary says military action against Iranian nuclear sites could have unintended consequences for the region
Military action against Iran could have “unintended consequences” in the region, the US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, said on Thursday, hours after Tehran warned that an attack against its nuclear sites would be met with “iron fists”.
Panetta, who took over the Pentagon’s top job in July, said he agreed with the assessment of his predecessor, Robert Gates, that a strike on Iran would only delay its nuclear programme, which the west believes is aimed at making an atomic bomb.
“You’ve got to be careful of unintended consequences here,” Panetta told reporters at the Pentagon.
“It could have a serious impact in the region, and it could have a serious impact on US forces in the region,” he said. “And I think all of those things, you know, need to be carefully considered.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/11/leon-panetta-warns-iran-strike
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Israel reported ‘behind blast’ that killed Iran’s missile chief
Time magazine quotes ‘western intel source’ as saying Mossad carried out blast at missile base near Tehran
Time’s correspondent in Jerusalem, Karl Vick, is reporting that Israel was responsible for the huge blast on Saturday at a Revolutionary Guard missile base, about 35 km west of Tehran. Vick quotes a western intelligence source as saying that Mossad carried out the sabotage attack, adding that more such attacks are to be expected – “There are more bullets in the magazine.”
If true, it would be the most damaging blow to date in the covert war against Iran’s nuclear weapons programme. It killed 17 Iranian revolutionary guardsmen, including the head of the missile programme, General Hasan Moghaddam, decribed in the Iranian press as “a pioneer” of Iran’s missile project [Farsi]. His official job description was head of the ‘self-sufficiency department” for munitions. The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was at the funeral today.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/julian-borger-global-security-blog/2011/nov/14/iran-nuclear-weapons
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The Nuclear Options
Barack Obama’s Iran policy is frustrating, slow-moving, and fraught with uncertainty. But have you taken a look at the alternatives?
President Barack Obama arrived in office determined to make a sharp break with George W. Bush’s policy on nuclear nonproliferation. Obama and his team believed that the only way they could get allies to support a tough line against countries like Iran or North Korea that were seeking to acquire nuclear weapons was to comply with the United States’ own obligation under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to reduce its nuclear stockpile. One of Obama’s leading nonproliferation experts admitted to me in the early days of the administration that this sounded very much like “an article of faith” adopted by untested idealists. “These are propositions that have to be demonstrated,” he said. “The administration will be going to these countries to say, ‘We’re doing our part; now you have to do your part.’”
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/11/11/the_nuclear_options
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Report: Russian Expert Advised Iran On Nuclear Program
A Washington-based nongovernmental organization has says Iran apparently had the help of a Russian scientist in developing a detonator and high explosives for its nuclear program.
In a report released on November 13, the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) identified the Russian scientist as being 76-year-old Vyacheslav Danilenko.
The ISIS report said Danilenko worked at Iran’s Sharif University.
The ISIS based its conclusion on the findings of a report issued last week by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
http://www.rferl.org/content/report_says_russian_expert_advised_iran_on_nuclear_program/24390955.html
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Larijani: Israel not linked to explosion
Iranian Parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani Wednesday called baseless reports Israel was behind an explosion at a Revolutionary Guards base that killed 17.
“The enemies instead of showing [the realities] of the incident have concocted stories about it,” Larijani said at a ceremony honoring members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards killed in Saturday’s explosion.
Larijani also denied reports claiming the blast was related to nuclear tests or the transport of missile warheads, the semi-official Fars news agency said.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/11/16/Larijani-Israel-not-linked-to-explosion/UPI-50211321447684/
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Iranian Parliament penalizes travel to Israel
Iran’s Parliament has passed new legislation approving prison sentences of two to five years for Iranians who travel to Israel.
Iranian MPs also voted to withhold a passport from Iranians caught traveling to Israel for a period of three to five years, on top of the two to five years in prison. The motion was passed 131 to 3 with 11 abstaining.
Previously, the law stated that an Iranian passport was valid for travel to all countries except where banned by the government for particular reasons.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/nov/1159.html
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Khamenei’s Power Consolidation Gambit
Recent comments by Iran’s Supreme Leader have sparked intense debate inside the Islamic Republic. When Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hinted at abandoning Iran’s presidential system three weeks ago, a flurry of commentary followed. Some interpreted his remarks as a concerted push towards absolute power, while others warned against further damaging the country’s republican institutions. It is now clear that the Supreme Leader has embarked upon a sustained strategy of eliminating political opposition; decreasing turbulence during his reign, and shaping Iran’s long-term political development around his rule.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/nov/1154.html
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We Are Spies
The Islamic Republic of Iran interprets journalists and journalism as spies and espionage. In its eyes, we journalists are spies. Where have we received our training? Colleges of journalism (places that they claim have brought the deviant sciences to Iran). Where do we work? At newspapers (which they portray to be enemy bases).
So what is our crime? Dissemination of news. We believe in the free flow of information. We interview, write reports, gather news, etc (all of which are acts of espionage in the eyes of the Islamic republic). What is our punishment? Arrest and summons. Not once or twice, but repeatedly. We are subjected to continuous interrogations (just look at Mahsa Amrabadi, and others). What is our sentence? Flogging. Not one slash, not 5, or 10, but 50 (look at Samie Tohidloo and others). Imprisonment not just for one year, two years etc. but for dozens of years (look at Ahmad Zeidabadi and others). Ban from work. Not for one year or 5, but for 30 years (look at Jila Bani-Yaghoub).
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/nov/1139.html
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Video: Letters from Iran – The aftermath of Iran’s Green Revolution
While winds of change have been blowing through the Arab world this year, Iranians have been forced to wait for political reform.
In 2009, in the aftermath of an election that saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad controversially returned to power as president of the Islamic Republic, millions took to the streets of Tehran to protest against the result. But the demonstrations were brutally repressed and the hopes of the “green revolutionaries” were dashed.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/nov/1127.html
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Panetta Throws a Brushback Pitch as Israel Inches Closer to an Attack
Anshel Pfeffer writes in Tablet that an Israeli attack on Iran is not only a foregone conclusion (he goes farther down this path than a certain writer did in a certain magazine story last year), but would represent the opening not of a first front but a second front in the Israeli-Iran war:
When that attack happens, most likely in the early spring, Israel’s second Iranian war will officially begin. The first has been going on through much of the last decade in the battles Israel has been fighting with Iran’s local proxies–Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip–and in the secret war being waged against Iran’s nuclear program. The front lines of this war extend thousands of miles, from Bandar-Abbas, an Iranian port on the Persian Gulf, to the eastern Mediterranean and in the Arabian Peninsula, northeast Africa, and north into Turkey. This secret war involves the interdiction of Iranian arms bound for Hezbollah and Hamas and of vital components bound for Iran’s nuclear facilities. Few of these operations, such as the commandeering of cargo ships carrying missiles, are ever revealed as official Israeli actions.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/11/panetta-throws-a-brushback-pitch-as-israel-inches-closer-to-an-attack/248745/
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Iranian judiciary officials try to arrest top aide to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
President’s media adviser, Ali Akbar Javanfekr, put in handcuffs while conducting press conference at newspaper, say reports
Judicial authorities in Iran have attempted to arrest a close ally of the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in what is widely being viewed as the latest twist in the struggle for power at the top of the Iranian regime.
A group of officials raided the offices of the daily government newspaper Iran on Monday in order to arrest Ali Akbar Javanfekr, the president’s media adviser. Javanfekr is also the head of the state news agency, Irna.
At the weekend, a court in Tehran had sentenced him to one year in jail and a three-year ban on working for the press after “publishing materials contrary to Islamic norms”.
According to the semi-official Mehr news agency, Javanfekr was handcuffed but his arrest was “temporarily halted” after government officials intervened. Mehr did not specify who had stepped into the dispute, but some accounts attributed the intervention to Ahmadinejad.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/21/iran-arrest-attempt-adhmadinejad-ally
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Iran ‘arrests 12 CIA agents’
Influential politician says US spies had been gathering intelligence on military units and nuclear activities
Iran has arrested 12 people it claims were working undercover for the CIA inside the Islamic republic, further raising tensions in its already strained relationship with the US.
On Wednesday, the Irna state news agency quoted a senior Iranian official as saying that the spies it claimed to have arrested had been gathering intelligence from Iran’s security and military units as well as its highly sensitive nuclear programme.
“The main mission of this act of espionage was related to Iran’s progress in the fields of nuclear technology and also military and security activities,” said Parviz Sorouri, a member of the parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, in quotes carried by Irna.
Sorouri told the agency that the network had been uncovered by an operation involving the Iranian ministry of intelligence. “The US and Zionist regime’s espionage apparatuses were trying to damage Iran both from inside and outside with a heavy blow, using regional intelligence services,” he said. “Fortunately, with swift reaction by the Iranian intelligence department, the actions failed to bear fruit.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/24/iran-claims-arrests-of-cia-agents
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Azeri journalist dies after stabbing
Azerbaijani writer and journalist Rafiq Tagi has died four days after being stabbed several times in a late-night attack.
Tagi, a noted critic of the Azerbaijani government, neighbouring Iran and political Islam, died in the Baku hospital where he was taken following the 19 November attack.
After surgery 61-year-old Tagi had been reported to be in satisfactory condition. An hour before his death he was filmed telling a reporter that he was recovering well.
Some his friends had complained about a lack of security at the hospital and urged the government to take measures, but Tagi said he did not feel in danger.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/nov/24/journalist-safety-azerbaijan
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The deafening silence on a good man’s death
The murder of Rafiq Tagi reveals the west’s cowardice in the face of religious extremism
The “international community” showed no grief about the assassination of Rafiq Tagi. An unknown coward stabbed him in the back, then ran away. He “was very nervous and did not say a word,” Tagi said before his injuries overwhelmed him. Index on Censorship tried to sound an alarm. But as Tagi’s murderer was in all likelihood a supporter of religious rather than political tyranny, the death of the 61-year-old Azerbaijani journalist and literary critic passed almost without comment.
As the Arab Spring turns to winter, more should take notice. Men and women such as Tagi are everywhere under attack. In Tunisia, the religious right in the form of the Ennahda party wins a plurality of the vote in the first elections after the fall of the dictatorship. The BBC and the Guardian hail its leaders as “moderate Islamists”. The Islamists then display their moderation by attacking a TV station that broadcast Persepolis, the animated version of Marjane Satrapi’s story of the subjugation of women in Iran, and sending it to the courts to face charges of undermining “sacred values and morals”. In Egypt, the demonstrators in Tahrir Square start to realise that the Muslim Brotherhood is not their ally, and even western optimists begin to see the wolfish looks on Islamist faces as they gaze at Egyptian Christians and think of a pogrom. Meanwhile, in Azerbaijan a nervous man stabs Rafiq Tagi in the back and leaves him for dead without saying a word.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/27/nick-cohen-azerbaijan-murder-islamism
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More half-measures from Obama administration on Iran
THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION pledged that Iran would suffer painful consequences for plotting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington and for refusing to freeze its nuclear program. Key European allies and Congress — not to mention Israel — are ready for decisive action. But on Monday the administration unveiled another series of half-steps. Sanctions were toughened on Iran’s oil industry, but there was no move to block its exports. The Iranian banking system was designated “a primary money laundering concern,” a step U.S. officials said could prompt banks and companies around the world to cease doing business with the country. But the administration declined to directly sanction the central bank.
The result is that President Obama is not even leading from behind on Iran; he is simply behind. At the forefront of the Western effort to pressure Tehran is French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who issued a statement Monday calling on the European Union, the United States, Japan, Canada and “other willing countries” to “immediately freeze the assets of Iran’s central bank” and suspend purchases of Iranian oil. France rejects the Obama administration’s view that these steps would cause a counterproductive spike in oil prices. In any case, higher oil prices are preferable to allowing an Iranian bomb — or having to take military action to stop it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/more-half-measures-from-obama-administration-on-iran/2011/11/22/gIQADXxLmN_story.html
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Vote Expresses Fury at Britain
Two days after the British government announced it was cutting off all transactions with the Central Bank of Iran and other Iranian banks, Iran’s Parliament on Wednesday voted to scale back diplomatic relations with Britain, with one lawmaker calling for the British ambassador to be expelled.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/24/world/middleeast/iran-vote-expresses-fury-at-britain.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
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Iran Denies Involvement In Attack On Azerbaijani Writer
The Iranian Embassy in Azerbaijan has released a statement denying any Iranian participation in the stabbing of writer and journalist Rafiq Tagi, RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service reports.
“We refute the groundless claims, at odds with reality, spread by some persons and media outlets of the Azerbaijan Republic linking the attempt on Rafiq Tagi’s life to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the statement read.
“We construe such actions aimed at creating a negative atmosphere as Zionist-American sabotage [in a bid] to undermine Iranian-Azerbaijani strategic relations. We regard these attempts as a failure and a defeat.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_denies_involvement_in_attack_on_azerbaijani_writer/24399092.html
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U.S. Says Iran Weaker Since Obama Took Office
U.S. President Barack Obama’s top national security aide says Iran has become weaker since Obama took office in January 2009.
Speaking November 22 at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington, national security adviser Tom Donilon said Iran’s influence in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world has been reduced by international sanctions designed to punish Iran over its nuclear program, internal divisions among the leadership in Tehran, and the developments of the Arab Spring pro-reform movements.
Donilon also spoke of U.S. efforts to isolate Iran diplomatically and to strengthen U.S. military cooperation with Persian Gulf states as having increased the pressure on the Iranian regime.
http://www.rferl.org/content/obama_adviser_says_iran_weaker_since_obama_in_office/24399139.html
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Iranian Lawmakers Consider Retaliation For Sanctions
Iranian lawmakers have drafted an emergency bill calling on the Foreign Ministry to expel the British ambassador to Tehran after Britain joined other Western powers to impose fresh sanctions on Iran over that country’s disputed nuclear program.
The bill is to be reviewed and voted upon by parliament on November 26.
If passed, it would downgrade diplomatic relations to the level of charge d’affairs.
Britain this week announced it was cutting financial ties with all Iranian banks in a move aimed to pressure Iran over its nuclear drive.
The United States and Canada also announced sanctions targeting Iran’s financial sector.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_lawmakers_to_vote_on_retaliation_for_sanctions/24399695.html
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Italy Wants To Persuade Its Energy Firms To Drop Iranian Oil
Italy says it believes sanctions should be tightened against Iran, and is seeking to persuade its companies to stop buying Iranian oil.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Maurizio Massari told Reuters in Rome on November 25 that “we are deeply convinced that we need to strengthen the pressure of sanctions on Iran and we are ready to discuss sanctions measures with our partners.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/italy_wants_to_persuade_its_energy_firms_to_drop_iranian_oil/24402018.html
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Iranian Parliament Votes To Downgrade Ties With Britain
Iran’s parliament has approved a draft bill calling for a reduction in diplomatic and economic relations with Britain in retaliation for Britain’s decision to increase sanctions against Tehran.
Reportedly 179 of the 290 deputies in parliament voted in favor of the bill with four voting against and 11 abstaining.
The bill also gives the government two weeks to expel Britain’s ambassador to Iran, appointed only in October, and leave the British Embassy to be run by the charge d’affaires.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iranian_parliament_votes_to_downgrade_ties_with_britain/24403487.html
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Iran expels Britain’s ambassador to Tehran calling ‘death to England’
Iran erupted in a fresh frenzy of animosity towards its old imperial foe on Sunday as MPs chanting “death to England” voted to expel Britain’s ambassador to Tehran and threatened his mission with a reprise of the 1979 hostage crisis.
Dominic Chilcott, who took up the position of ambassador just a month ago, could be forced to leave the country within weeks after a motion to downgrade Iran’s diplomatic ties with Britain was passed overwhelmingly by the Islamist republic’s parliament.
The step was taken after Britain, Canada and the United States announced fresh sanctions against Iran last week in the wake of a report by UN weapons inspectors which provided the most compelling case yet that Tehran is trying to build a nuclear bomb.
Britain was singled out, however, after it became the first state to impose direct sanctions on Iran’s central bank. Financial institutions in the City were also banned from doing business with their Iranian counterparts.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/8918875/Iran-expels-Britains-ambassador-to-Tehran-calling-death-to-England.html
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Iran threatens to hit Turkey if US, Israel attack
Iran will target NATO’s missile defense installations in Turkey if the U.S. or Israel attacks the Islamic Republic, a senior commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard said Saturday.
Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Guards’ aerospace division, said the warning is part of a new defense strategy to counter what he described as an increase in threats from the U.S. and Israel.
Tensions have been rising between Iran and the West since the release of a report earlier this month by the International Atomic Energy Agency that said for the first time that Tehran was suspected of conducting secret experiments whose sole purpose was the development of nuclear arms.
The U.S. and its Western allies suspect Iran of trying to produce atomic weapons, and Israel, which views Tehran as an existential threat, has warned of a possible strike on Iran’s nuclear program. Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes.
“Should we be threatened, we will target NATO’s missile defense shield in Turkey and then hit the next targets,” the semiofficial Mehr news agency quoted Hajizadeh as saying.
http://williamsondailynews.com/bookmark/16568997
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IRGC Official: Iran To Target Israel Nuclear Facilities If Attacked
A senior military commander says if Israel fires even a single missile at Iranian nuclear facilities, every inch of the entity will be the target of Iran’s missiles.
Referring to recent anti-Iran rhetoric by the US and Israel, Brigadier General Yadollah Javani said on Saturday that Iran will not just repel enemy attacks and is capable of countering hostile attempts within enemy territory.
“If Israel fires a missile towards our nuclear or critical facilities, it should know that every inch of Israel including its nuclear centers are a target for our missiles [to hit] and we have this capability today,” the Iranian general said.
“Today, our enemies have reached a dead-end which they cannot escape from and this is why they say things without noticing [they are making] contradictory statements,” ISNA quoted Javani as saying.
“They threaten with military attack which they are incapable of [launching it]… if an entity repeatedly threatens with attack but does not have the capability to carry it out, its threats will be rendered inert,” he added.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/nov/1276.html
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Iranian security forces welcome hackers’ skills
The Iranian task force for IT crimes has announced that police will enlist the aid of computer hackers. Colonel Toraj Kazemi, the deputy head of the IT crimes task force, told ISNA that it has divided hackers into three groups: “white hats, pink hats and black hats.”
The hackers who illegally enter computer systems to damage or steal something are the black hats. Those who hack into systems to show off are referred to as pink hats, and those who do it to determine the weaknesses of security systems for marketing purposes are referred to as white hats, according to Kazemi.
He said the so-called pink and white hats are not considered criminals, adding that police welcome hackers to share their skills and add to police expertise in the field of cyber information. He added that 50 percent of Iranian hackers are under 25 years of age.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/nov/1270.html
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Iranian Students Storm British Embassy in Tehran
Student protesters loyal to the government stormed the British Embassy in Tehran and its residential compound on Tuesday, in the most serious security breach of a diplomatic site there since the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in 1979.
Live television footage from Iran’s state broadcaster showed angry mobs climbing on a wall of the British Embassy building in downtown Tehran and two young men attempting to break the lock on the iron gate of the compound. They took down the Union Jack flag and raised Iran’s, Iranian news media reported, and took hostages, who were later released.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204449804577067912218983018.html?mod=fox_australian
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Iranian mobs storm British diplomatic compounds in Tehran; UK warns of ‘serious consequences’
TEHRAN, Iran — Hard-line Iranian students stormed British diplomatic sites in Tehran on Tuesday, bringing down the Union Jack flag, burning an embassy vehicle and throwing documents from windows in scenes reminiscent of the seizing of the U.S. Embassy compound in 1979.
The act drew a sharp rebuke from London. British Prime Minister David Cameron called it “outrageous and indefensible” and warned the Iranian government will face “serious consequences” for “its unacceptable failure” to protect diplomats in line with international law. He said those measures would be considered in coming days.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/hard-line-iranian-students-storm-british-embassy-in-tehran-amid-rising-diplomatic-tensions/2011/11/29/gIQANjfK8N_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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Tehran embassy seizure, as in 1979, highlights rift with West
When Iranian student militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4, 1979, the ostensible aim was to demand that the United States send the deposed shah back to Iran to face justice. That goal was never realized. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi underwent treatment for cancer in New York and Texas before moving to Panama and, eventually, Egypt, where he died in July 1980
But the militants also had an officially unstated objective, one that outlived the shah and was achieved with far-reaching success. They wanted to undermine the relatively moderate government of Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan and scuttle relations with the United States, ending a U.S. effort to build new connections with Iran despite the Islamic revolution that had ousted the shah, a longtime American ally.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/tehran-embassy-seizure-as-in-1979-highlights-rift-with-west/2011/11/29/gIQAfPzP9N_blog.html?wprss=blogpost
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Storming of British Embassy in Tehran Broadcast Live on State Television
Last Updated | 1:48 p.m. Iranian state television showed live images of student protesters breaking into the British Embassy in Tehran on Tuesday and hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails, my colleagues Alan Cowell and Rick Gladstone report.
Press TV, Iran’s official English-language satellite channel, reported that militant students pulled down the British flag at the compound on Ferdowsi Avenue in the Iranian capital. The embassy is about a mile from the site of the former American Embassy, which was seized by students in 1979.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/29/storming-of-british-embassy-in-tehran-broadcast-live-on-state-television/?partner=rss&emc=rss
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Iranian protesters storm British embassy
Iranian protesters have re-entered the British embassy compound in Tehran, shortly after police chased out a group of more than 20 demonstrators who had stormed the mission.
The protesters back inside are scattering papers taken from the embassy and setting them on fire, witnesses told AFP.
Police fired tear gas at the protesters inside the embassy grounds to disperse them late Tuesday, the Fars news agency reported. It added that several protesters had been injured, one critically, as had several officers.
Tehran police chief General Hossein Sajadi-Nia was at the scene, ordering the protesters to end their action.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Foreign Office is urging its citizens in Iran to ‘stay indoors’ and ‘keep a low profile’ after protesters stormed Britain’s embassy and another diplomatic compound.
http://www.skynews.com.au/topstories/article.aspx?id=691008&vId=2884510
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Iranian students storm British Embassy in Tehran
Foto’s
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/53012702-75/embassy-iran-british-tehran.html.csp
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War Will Hurt The Genuine Social Movement Of The Iranian people: A Statement By A Group Of Activists Inside Iran
1. Wars have been the most terrifying phenomena people have confronted since the istant past. In our society, millions of Iranians have been living under the ominous shadow of the eight-year war with Iraq.
The reminiscences of air raid sirens, damp shelters, overnight power cuts, nameless bodies, severed limbs, mothers who lost their children, children who lost their fathers, famine and hunger, homeless refugees and dozens of other frightening pictures at the back or forefront of our minds, vividly or vaguely, whether like a nightmare or a constant fear, is weighing down on everyone of us.
2. In the last years, the mainstream media have tried to downgrade wars to computer games and their visual expressions. A red point starts to blink on the radar screen of NATO modern fighter jets, then there is an apparently small explosion; this is the picture inculcated into the audience by these media. But the reality is more repulsive and bloody; certainly, the story is not the explosion of one red point on the radar screen of a fighter jet; it is about a family sitting at the dinner table in Tripoli, or the tired soldiers who are forced to be in an army center in Baghdad, or a school in Yugoslavia where children are studying , or a local market, lively and crowded, in a Kabul neighborhood, … or every other thing in which life was going on until last moments and now has turned into ashes. We have to put this ugly reality before their very eyes more clearly than before, to reveal the obnoxiousness of war.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/nov/1304.html
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Iran Threat Is a Tactic: Main Goal Is to Checkmate Syria
The international scene has been recently witness to various threats by Israelis, Americans and certain European countries against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Although such threats, especially from the Israelis, had started before release of the recent Iran report of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the country’s nuclear program, they became more serious after IAEA director general, Yukiya Amano, published his report. The report has been assessed by most experts as being purely motivated on political grounds. In that report, IAEA claimed that it is in possession of information which proves the existence of a military dimension to Iran’s nuclear activities. Interestingly, Israeli and American officials knew all about the content of the report before it was officially circulated and orchestrated an intensely negative propaganda campaign against Iran. According to IAEA Statute, the content of the reports, which is considered confidential, cannot be revealed before they are released to all members of the Agency.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/nov/1302.html
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Iran ‘Regrets’ Storming Of U.K. Compounds
Dozens of Iranian protesters stormed two British diplomatic compounds in Tehran on November 29, prompting strong condemnation from Britain and the international community and an uneasy apology from the Iranian government.
Protesters first attacked the British Embassy in Tehran, smashing windows and burning the British flag.
An angry crowd numbering in the hundreds outside the embassy walls during the incursion shouted “Death to England! Death to three terrorist countries: America, Israel, and England!”
A second British diplomatic compound, located in the north of the capital, was stormed by at least 100 protesters. The semi-official Fars news agency reported that six British diplomats who had been holed up for more than two hours in a building inside the diplomatic compound had been able to get through protesters after intervention from diplomatic police.
A statement from Britain’s Foreign Office confirmed “an incursion by a significant number of demonstrators into our embassy premises, including vandalism to our property.” It expressed “outrage” and condemned the assault as “utterly unacceptable” and said senior British officials had urged Iranian authorities to bring the situation under control and obey international obligations to protect foreign diplomatic missions.
http://www.rferl.org/content/uk_embassy_in_tehran_stormed/24405767.html
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The Iran Threat
In retrospect, weakness in the face of aggression is almost impossible to understand — or forgive. Why did the West do so little while the Nazis gathered strength in the 1930s? While the Soviet Union enslaved half of Europe and fomented revolution in China in the late 1940s? And, again, while Al Qaeda gathered strength in the 1990s? Those questions will forever haunt the reputations of the responsible statesmen, from Neville Chamberlain to Bill Clinton.
The answer to the riddle — why did the West slumber? — becomes easier to grasp if we think about present-day relations with Iran.
The Islamic Republic has been attacking the West, and in particular the United States, since the day of its birth. A central feature of the 1979 revolution, after all, was the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The resulting hostage crisis allowed Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to consolidate power and drove out more moderate leaders. This is the direct inspiration for Tuesday’s storming of the British Embassy in Tehran. If violating diplomatic immunity worked once, why not again?
http://www.cfr.org/iran/iran-threat/p26656?cid=rss-iran-the_iran_threat-120111&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+region%2Firan+%28CFR.org+-+Regions+-+Iran%29
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UberLOL.
British ‘most secret’ invasion plans seized at Iran embassy – 70 years on
Amid the mayhem when the British embassy in Tehran was stormed last Tuesday, a mob destroyed antique oil portraits of Queen Victoria and Edward VII, made off with a poster from the film, Pulp Fiction, but narrowly missed dog-napping the ambassador’s terrier, Pumpkin.
However, the Basij commanders and Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) officers said by western diplomats to be in the crowd, must have thought they had hit the jackpot when the raiders came across embassy documents in the ambassador’s office marked “most secret” in red ink, giving details of a gigantic invasion plan.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/julian-borger-global-security-blog/2011/dec/05/julian-borger-security-iran
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Iran Election Watch #1
What is Iran’s parliamentary election schedule until the March poll?
Election activities began in December as Iran’s Election Commission announced that the Ministry of Interior established election headquarters in all 31 provinces. The key dates are:
•December 24: The candidate registration period begins.
•December 30: The registration period ends.
•January: The Guardian Council reviews the credentials of all candidates, a process that usually takes about a month.
•Late January or early February: The final list of eligible candidates – and disqualified candidates — should be released. In the past, the majority of candidates have been disqualified for not meeting vague criteria.
•February 22: The official campaign period begins and lasts eight days.
•February 29: The official campaign ends.
•March 2: Election Day.
http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2011/dec/06/iran-election-watch-1
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‘Virtual’ US Iranian embassy opens online
The US embassy in Tehran has been closed for more than three decades, but now an online equivalent offers services including visa information.
The “virtual embassy” went online on Tuesday in English and Farsi, but the US says it is not intended to replace an official diplomatic mission to Iran.
In a statement, the state department said the virtual embassy should “work as a bridge” between America and Iran.
The West fears Tehran is developing a nuclear weapon, but Iran denies this.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16061178
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Iran Blocks U.S. ‘Virtual Embassy’
Iranian Internet users say the country’s authorities have blocked a web-based U.S. “embassy” to Iran, less than a day after it went online.
The English- and Persian-language website, designed by Washington as a “virtual embassy,” had been briefly available to Iranian Internet users after it was launched on December 6.
It could not be accessed the next day. Instead, the Internet address displayed a message saying access was “not possible.”
The United States said it wanted to use the “virtual embassy” to reach out to Iranians, despite the absence of official ties.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_blocks_us_virtual_embassy/24414660.html
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The Gulf Between Washington and Jerusalem Over Iran
William Galston, who attended the Saban Forum this past weekend (along with Goldblog), on how the Iranian threat is perceived in the two capitals:
By far the gravest issue, though, was how to proceed in the face of a looming Iranian nuclear threat. I came away from the two days with a dark and disturbing conclusion: There is a gulf between Israel and the United States that could have momentous consequences in 2012. When American officials declare that all options are on the table, most Israelis do not believe them. They have concluded, rather, that when the crunch comes (and everyone thinks it will), the United States will shy away from military force and reconfigure its policy to live with a nuclear-armed Iran. This is an outcome that no Israeli government can tolerate. For Israel, the Palestinian issue is an identity question: What kind of country will Israel be and what kind of life will Israelis lead? But the Iranian issue is an existential question: Will Israel and Israelis survive?
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/12/the-gulf-between-washington-and-jerusalem-over-iran/249626/
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Prince Hints Saudi Arabia May Join Nuclear Arms Race
A Saudi prince, in a remark designed to send chills through the Obama administration and its allies, suggested that the kingdom might consider producing nuclear weapons if it found itself between atomic arsenals in Iran and Israel.
The prince, Turki al-Faisal, who has served as the Saudi intelligence chief and as ambassador to the United States, made the comment on Monday at a Persian Gulf security forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The remark confirmed Western fears about the potential for an arms race in the Middle East if Iran moves to produce a nuclear weapon.
But it also reflected the hardening views among the Persian Gulf’s Arab states that they must rely on themselves — and not just on Western protection — as tensions with Iran grow worse.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/07/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-may-seek-nuclear-weapons-prince-says.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
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Special Reports
Iranian general steps out of the shadows
Maj. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, commander of the covert action wing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, is stepping out of the shadows as a leading hard-liner, and as tension with the United States heats up, that’s a really bad sign.
There is a school of thought among Iran-watchers that Tehran believes the United States and Israel, backed by Britain, are gearing up for a showdown with the Islamic Republic.
The Iranians, several seasoned analysts say, are getting ready for trouble as hard-line conservatives in the ruling elite demonstrated when they stormed and sacked the British Embassy in Tehran Nov. 29.
Some of the so-called students who swarmed over the embassy walls carried portraits of Suleimani, underlining his growing iconic status among the radicals, and more importantly in the Revolutionary Guard, one of the regime’s most powerful institutions.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/12/07/Iranian-general-steps-out-of-the-shadows/UPI-82761323279969/
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Iranian-Americans Launch Television Ad Campaign About Camp Ashraf, Iraq, Home to Iranian Dissidents – IACNORCAL
The campaign to prevent another massacre at Camp Ashraf, Iraq, home to the 3,400 Iranian dissidents, at the hands of the Iraqi forces took a major step today with the launch of a television ad campaign running in the Washington, DC metropolitan area in the days leading up to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s December 12th visit to the White House.
The advertising campaign hopes to make the public aware about the imminent danger facing unarmed men, women and children in Ashraf and to make sure that President Obama and Secretary Clinton intervene to resolve the situation peacefully and protect the residents.
The ad, titled People of Ashraf, contains images from the attacks on Camp Ashraf in both 2009 and in April of 2011 and urges President Obama to honor America’s promise to protect the people of Ashraf.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iranian-americans-launch-television-ad-campaign-about-camp-ashraf-iraq-home-to-iranian-dissidents—iacnorcal-135185143.html
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Reformists Must Admit They Were Wrong
Iran’s Supreme Leader says reformists can participate in the coming election if they “admit to being in error” in the last presidential election, the head of Iran’s Assembly of Experts has reported.
The Khabar-on-line website reports that in an interview, Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani said: “[Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei] says anyone that comes and says I believe in these principles, the constitution, the Revolution, Islam and the leadership, even if they have different tastes, they should not be churned away from the Revolution.”
Kani added that he had inquired specifically about the reformists and the Supreme Leader had responded: “If they came and admitted that they were in error, then it is not a problem. They can come and say at a certain time, we made a mistake and now we understand and do not want to repeat those errors.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/dec/1059.html
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Call for Solidarity with Iranian Women’s Movement: Coming Together with The Butterflies for Peace
The following statement has been endorsed by over 160 prominent Iranian women’s rights advocates, activists and scholars living abroad. This was meant to show solidarity with women’s rights activists inside Iran and echo their voices internationally. Despite the continuous repression of civil rights advocates inside Iran, over 70 courageous women from different political backgrounds came together and issued a statement against domestic and state violence in Iran. Faced with the latest rising tension and threat of military clash between the Iranian regime and the western powers over the nuclear issue, these activists impel the Iranian authorities and warmongers at home and internationally to engage in negotiation and dialogue rather than violence and war.
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is seared into our memory by the example of the “Unforgettable Butterflies,” three brave sisters from the Dominican Republic burnt in the fire of dictatorship.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/dec/1058.html
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Iranian journalist arrested at his home
Iranian journalist Farshad Ghorbanpour was arrested after a raid on his home in Tehran, the Human Rights House of Iran reports.
Ghorbanpour previously had been sentenced to one year in prison and $5,000 in fines for the charge of “acting against national security through propaganda against the regime” as well as “collaboration with the Rooz-on-line website.”
The appellate court has reportedly upheld the sentence, and Ghorbanpour has been transferred to Evin Prison.
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/dec/1054.html
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Confessions of Attackers on the British Embassy in Tehran: We Were Used
With the passage of five days since the attack on the British embassy compounds in Tehran, which has so far met with silence from the leader and the president of the Islamic Republic, a senior cleric condemned the attack, amid the strong condemnations that have been made by the British and other governments. Newspapers in Iran too are now commenting on the event as have some of the attackers on the embassy.
Among the most astounding responses were the remarks of Assembly of Expert’s member Ahmad Khatami who at Tehran’s weekly Friday prayer sermon initially strongly attacked Britain and called last week’s attack on the British embassy in Tehran as a “necessary slap” on Britain while in a subsequent interview criticized the attackers and pretended that he had always been against this type of activity!
On his return to the UK, the British ambassador to Tehran said that Iran’s Majlis speaker Ali Larijani and Alaeddin Borujerdi wanted tension in the air for their own personal ambitions. He also said that Iran was not the sort of country “where spontaneous demonstrations congregate and then attack a foreign embassy. That sort of activity, he wont to say, takes place only with the acquiescence and the support of the state.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/dec/1050.html
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Election Fears and Economic Woes Pose New Challenges for Iran’s Leaders
Iran’s conservative Islamic hierarchy has been seeking to portray the coming parliamentary elections as an enviable model of Middle East democracy and an inspiration for the Arab Spring revolts.
But a likely boycott by Iran’s harshly silenced reformists and fears of election-related violence, combined with dire economic problems arising from Iran’s isolation over its suspect nuclear program, are creating new challenges for Iranian leaders as they face their first domestic legitimacy test since the disputed presidential election of 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/03/world/middleeast/boycott-by-reformers-could-undermine-elections-in-iran.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
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Daughter of former Iranian president sentenced to jail
Ex-MP Faezeh Hashemi, whose views are close to the Green movement’s, faces six months for ‘spreading propaganda’
The daughter of former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has been sentenced to six months in jail after being found guilty of “spreading propaganda” against the country’s regime.
Faezeh Hashemi, a political activist and former member of the Iranian parliament whose views are close to those of the reformists, was informed of the court’s verdict on Tuesday, Iran’s semi-official Ilna news agency reported.
“She has been convicted on charges of making propaganda against the ruling system and has been sentenced to six months in prison,” Hashemi’s lawyer, Gholam Ali Riahi, told Ilna.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/03/iran-former-president-daughter-jailed-hashimi
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Establishment factions to face off in Iranian elections
Iran has begun gearing up for elections that will represent a showdown between two factions that just three years ago formed a united establishment against the opposition Green Movement.
In parliamentary elections March 2, supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will face off against an alliance of hard-line clerics, Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders and bazaar merchants who had been instrumental in keeping Ahmadinejad in power before they turned against him.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/establishment-factions-to-face-off-in-iranian-elections/2012/01/02/gIQAJ4EsXP_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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Social Media Carries Prison Message From Iranian Activist
A well-known Iranian political activist, Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, has managed to send out an unprecedented video message from the Rajayishahr prison in which he dismisses Iran’s repressive measures aimed at silencing dissent and predicts they will fail.
“Freedom is the essence of human being I believe, in fact without freedom no choice has a meaning,” he says in the 15-minute-plus video.
The video was recorded recently on a mobile phone and posted on YouTube. It was then quickly shared on Facebook, blogs, and other social media sites.
Tabarzadi the head of the banned Democratic Front of Iran who has been in and out of prison for the past several years, is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence after being convicted of security charges that are often being brought against Iranian political activists.
http://www.rferl.org/content/jailed_iran_activist_social_media_carries_message/24440611.html
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Iran Tests Cruise Missile During Navy Drill
Iran–Iran test-fired a surface-to-surface cruise missile on Monday during a drill that the country’s navy chief said proved Tehran was in complete control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the passageway for one-sixth of the world’s oil supply.
The missile, called Ghader, or Capable in Farsi, was described as an upgraded version of a missile that has been in service before. The official IRNA news agency said the missile “successfully hit its intended target” during the exercise.
No other details were released about Ghader. An earlier version of the same cruise missile had a range of 124 miles (200 kilometers) and could travel at low altitudes. There were suggestions it could counter the U.S. naval presence in the Persian Gulf.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203550304577136620250642352.html?mod=fox_australian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/jan/03/iran-test-long-range-missile-video
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‘Regime unable to try green leaders,’ says Khamenei aide
A close aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader says that authorities are unable to put the leaders of the Green Movement on trial because of their followers.
Speaking to the Fars news agency, Ali Saeedi, the Supreme Leader’s representative to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, said that it was not possible to take 2009 presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi to court “because they have supporters and followers” as well as “a few turban-heads [clerics] who continue to back elements within the sedition.”
“Sedition” is a term frequently used by officials to refer to the massive protests that erupted following the June 2009 presidential race which resulted in the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president.
In mid-February, Karroubi and Mousavi, who spearheaded the opposition Green Movement since the rigged election, were placed under an illegal and arbitrary house arrest after calling for protests in solidarity with the Arab Spring. Thus far, no formal charges have been put forth against the two men. Human rights groups say their continued captivity and maltreatment is inconsistent not only with human rights provisions, but also with Iran’s own constitution.
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2012/jan/03/3436?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+irangreenvoice%2FEn+%28Iran+Green+Voice+-+English%29
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Pentagon Dismisses Iran Threat On Persian Gulf Transit
The Pentagon has said it will continue sending U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups into the Persian Gulf, despite a threat by Iran’s military to take action.
Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement on January 3 that “the deployment of U.S. military assets in the Persian Gulf region will continue as it has for decades.”
The statement said that “these carrier strike group deployments are necessary to maintain the continuity and operational support to ongoing missions.”
Earlier on the same day, the Reuters news agency quoted a U.S. defense official as saying that the United States will continue to deploy its warships in the Persian Gulf, after Iran threatened to take action if the U.S. Navy moves an aircraft carrier into the region.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_commander_warns_us_aircraft_carrier/24440697.html
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Iranian internet users to be cut off from World Wide Web
In Maart zou Iran afgesloten worden van het Wereld wijd web en op 2 maart zijn de verkiezingen.
Dan kan Ik me wel voorstellen dat men alles zal proberen om enig nieuws over de verkiezingen en de gevolgen daarvan niet wereldkundig wil hebben.
Dus welbeschouwd zal waarschijnlijk de fraude van 2009 overtroffen gaan worden.
A member of Iran’s Corporate Computer Systems reports that Iran will be cut off from the World Wide Web once the country launches its own national internet network.
Iranian media report that Payam Karbasi, the spokesman for Corporate Computer Systems of Iran, said: “With the launch of the national internet, the internet providers can increase the speed of access to their desired websites by two megabytes… however, it will be just like a corporate network, which cannot be accessed by outsiders, and some material cannot be accessed through that network.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jan/1029.html
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Revolutionary Guards chief warns against elections protests
General Mohammad Ali Jafari, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, has warned that the “enemy” is planning “street disturbances and social protests” around the upcoming parliamentary elections.
On Sunday Jafari said the IRGC has information showing that these disturbances have been planned for a long time.
“They want to create disturbances and resuscitate the sedition,” Jafari said. “And by showing and focusing on the confrontation of protesters with the regime, they want to distort the popular image of the regime in the Islamic world.”
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/revolutionary-guards-chief-warns-against-elections-protests
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Iran prepares bill to bar foreign warships from Persian Gulf
Iran’s parliament said Wednesday it was preparing a bill that would prohibit all foreign warships from entering the Persian Gulf unless they received permission from the Iranian navy.
The bill, disclosed by the the semiofficial Fars News Agency, surfaced a day after Iran’s armed forces commander warned a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier not to return to the gulf, remarks that rattled commodities markets and helped drive up oil prices.
The proposed legislation suggested that at least some Iranian officials are serious about trying to stop the U.S. Navy from entering the oil-rich gulf waters. Iranian analysts said the bill probably would not have been introduced if it were not supported by higher authorities.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-prepares-bill-to-bar-foreign-warships-from-persian-gulf/2012/01/04/gIQAhlWYaP_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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Exclusive: EU agrees to embargo on Iranian crude
European governments have agreed in principle to ban imports of Iranian oil, EU diplomats said on Wednesday, dealing a blow to Tehran that crowns new Western sanctions months before an Iranian election.
The prospective embargo by the European Union, along with tough U.S. financial measures signed into law by President Barack Obama on New Year’s Eve, form a concerted Western campaign to hold back Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran says the program is strictly non-military, but Western countries say a November U.N. report shows it has sought to build an atomic bomb. Talks between Tehran and major powers broke down a year ago.
Diplomats said EU envoys held talks on Iran in the last days of December, and that any objections to an oil embargo had been dropped – notably from crisis-hit Greece which gets a third of its oil from Iran, relying on Tehran’s lenient financing. Spain and Italy are also big buyers.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/04/us-iran-idUSTRE8031DI20120104?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
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Iran’s currency crash a blow to Ahmadinejad
The Iranian currency – the rial – has been essential in shoring up a view of Iran as strong and independent in recent years. Now it’s collapsing on President Ahmadinejad’s watch.
As Iran experiences new, harsh US and international economic sanctions over its nuclear program – a program considered by much of the country as a matter of national pride – a stable currency has become a national security priority.
“Even though it’s not necessarily good for the economy, amidst sanctions a stable currency creates an illusion of strength,” says a veteran analyst in Tehran. “It reflects how nonvulnerable the Iranian economy is to sanctions.”
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2012/0104/Iran-s-currency-crash-a-blow-to-Ahmadinejad
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Internet cafes to demand customer ID
Nicht vergessen das die wahlen am 2 – 3 – 2012 sind.
Tehran Police have ordered all internet cafes to start recording the identity of their customers.
ISNA reports that Tehran Police announced on Tuesday that internet cafes must check their customers’ identity cards before offering them any services.
The cafes are also reportedly required to install closed-circuit cameras to record the faces of their customers.
The businesses were given 15 days to comply with the new regulations or they risk being reported to the judiciary.
The police announcement says the new regulations aim to “provide security for the users of internet café services and organizing them in order to reduce any possible harm and to protect the business owners of internet cafes.”
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/internet-cafes-demand-customer-id
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How Serious Are Iran’s Threats?
Tensions have heightened between Tehran and Washington in the strategic Strait of Hormuz following increased sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program. Iran test-fired missiles and has threatened to close the strait. This is to signal to the United States and its neighbors in the region that Iran has a deterrent capacity, says Michael Elleman, a leading expert on Iran’s missile development. The threats are also aimed at bolstering leadership domestically, he adds. Elleman says while there has been no evidence since 2003 of Iran developing a nuclear weapons program, “Iran certainly is making tremendous headway in developing a range of ballistic missiles that could threaten the cities throughout the Gulf and in Israel.”
Is this connected to talk in the West of blocking Iranian oil exports?
I don’t think that has been expressly threatened by anyone in particular but Iran fears that that might come to pass and as a result the Iranians are trying to make the argument that “well if you are not going to allow people to buy our oil then we are not going to let any oil go through the Strait of Hormuz.”
http://www.cfr.org/iran/serious-irans-threats/p26972?cid=rss-iran-how_serious_are_iran_s_threats-010512&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+region%2Firan+%28CFR.org+-+Regions+-+Iran%29
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Iran’s internet cafe clampdown is an effective way to dissuade dissidents
By demanding cyber cafes take people’s details, government is free to focus on other methods of internet censorship
The dream of dictatorships – to control communications within their borders – has got harder and harder as the internet has become more and more pervasive. Fifteen years ago, cutting off the internet was easy: internet providers used modems and you could simply seize them. Now it’s more complex: smartphones may even be able to connect to telephone data services across borders. A determined person can get a message out in all sorts of ways: one of the smartest is to hide coded data inside the pixels of what looks like a perfectly innocent photograph, a method called steganography.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/05/iran-internet-cafe-clampdown-effective
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Analysis: Iran could close Hormuz — but not for long
Should Iran’s rulers ever make good their threats to block the Straits of Hormuz, they could almost certainly achieve their aim within a matter of hours.
But they could also find themselves sparking a punishing — if perhaps short-lived — regional conflict from which they could emerge the primary losers.
In recent weeks, a growing number of senior Iranian military and civilian officials have warned that Tehran could use force to close the 54 km (25 mile) entrance to the Gulf if Western states impose sanctions that paralyze their oil exports.
In 10 days of highly publicized military exercises, state television showed truck-mounted missiles blasting towards international waters, fast gunboats practicing attacks and helicopters deploying divers and naval commandos.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/05/us-iran-hormuz-idUSTRE8040PB20120105?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
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Iran’s growing state of desperation
The discussion everywhere these days is about Iran’s strength. Mitt Romney, the Republican front-runner, describes Iran as “the greatest threat that the world faces over the next decade.” He and others are impressed by Iran’s recent declarations about its nuclear capacities and its missile tests. Newt Gingrich has compared the Iranian challenge to the rise of Hitler’s Germany. More measured commentators also see Iran’s rising influence and power across the Middle East.
In fact, the real story is that Iran is weak and getting weaker. Sanctions have pushed its economy into a nose-dive. The political system is fractured and fragmenting. Abroad, its closest ally and the regime of which it is almost the sole supporter — Syria — is itself crumbling. The Persian Gulf monarchies have banded together against Iran and shored up their relations with Washington. Last week, Saudi Arabia closed its largest-ever purchase of U.S. weaponry. Meanwhile, Europe is close to approving even more intense sanctions against Tehran.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/irans-growing-state-of-desperation/2012/01/04/gIQA6usPbP_story.html
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Iran says U.S. warships in Persian Gulf spawn ‘mayhem’ (chaos)
Another top Iranian official weighed in Wednesday about the tensions brewing between his country and the United States, the latest salvo in the war of words over the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf.
“We have always stated that there is no need for the forces belonging to the countries beyond this region to have a presence in the Persian Gulf,” Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said Wednesday, the semiofficial Fars News Agency reported. “Their presence does nothing but create mayhem, and we never wanted them to be present in the Persian Gulf.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/04/world/meast/iran-strait/index.html?section=cnn_latest
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This Report That Iran Is Building Rocket Bases In Venezuela Just Got Far More Interesting
This one goes back a few months but has taken on a new relevance given the mounting tensions with Iran.
An article from the May 2011 Jerusalem Times reports Tehran is building intermediate-range missile launch pads at a base on the Paraguaná Peninsula in Venezuela (via Die Welt).
The Revolutionary Guard controlled engineering group Khatam al-Anbia is helping build the site said to include missile defenses, special forces units, and control stations.
Iran’s oil revenue is reportedly going to the construction of bunkers, watch towers, barracks, and 65 foot deep rocket silos.
The article points out that the base will allow Tehran to conduct missile strikes at “Iran’s enemies” if Iran is attacked.
From Caracas to Miami is about 1,300 miles, maybe a couple hundred more than from the Peninsula — well within the range of Iran’s Ghadr-110 medium-range ballistic missile that can cover a distance of over 1,800 miles.
http://www.businessinsider.com/iran-is-building-rocket-bases-in-venezuala-2012-1
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Iraqi militia’s plan to lay down arms and join politics could boost Iran’s role
A decision by a Shiite militia to transform itself from an armed, anti-American movement into a viable political force could complicate Iraq’s political crisis and strengthen Iran’s clout in this country as U.S. influence wanes.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government has welcomed the recent decision by Asaib Ahl al-Haq to lay down its arms and join the political process. But bringing the former militants into the fold may alienate the Sunni minority and increase tensions between competing
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/iraqi-officials-say-bombs-in-baghdad-kill-2-shiite-pilgrims/2012/01/06/gIQAwtwOeP_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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Iranian ‘Mothers’ Ask, ‘Who Really Endangers National Security?’
The Mothers of Laleh Park (previously known as the Mourning Mothers of Iran) — a group of women whose children were killed or detained during Iran’s 2009 postelection crackdown — have issued the names of seven members or supporters who have in recent months been sentenced to prison over their activism.
Two of them are currently serving jail terms.
The group has come under pressure by the authorities over its silent public protests in Tehran’s Laleh Park and other locations and for bringing attention to the plight of political prisoners.
In a statement, the group says that while those behind the torture and the killing of activists are free to continue their crimes, women and mothers who have refused to be silent while fighting for their basic rights and defending the rights of their children are being repeatedly harassed and threatened.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_persian_letters_mothers_of_laleh_park/24443427.html
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British Navy to Send Destroyer to Strait of Hormuz in Response to Iranian Threats
The British Navy has dispatched one of its warships to the Strait of Hormuz in response to threats by Iran that its military will block the narrow passage through which 35 percent of global seaborne crude oil moves.
The HMS Darling, a Type-45 destroyer, should be quite an intimidating and formidable presence in the waterway, the British newspaper Daily Telegraph reported.
According to the paper, the £1 billion ($1.5 billion) vessel, which has been fitted with sophisticated new technology that will grant it the power to shoot down any Iranian missile or rocket, will depart from Portsmouth on Wednesday.
Lord West, the former First Sea Lord, said about Darling: “This warship has an unbelievably capable ability to track targets, spot the most dangerous and identify them for its missiles to take out. It’s highly, highly capable. I would like to see the Type-45s show their potential in the region.”
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/277898/20120106/uk-navy-destroyer-iran-strait-hormuz.htm
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As US and Iran Confront Each other, where is the Diplomacy?
The war of words between Iran and the West has reached dangerous proportions, and it may easily get out of hand. It is clear that the majority of people in the West and in Iran do not wish the hostilities to develop into an open conflict, but events – and rhetoric – have a life of their own and have a tendency of getting out of control and leading to unintended consequences that would harm both sides. So, instead of ratcheting up the rhetoric, it would be wiser and more productive to make some serious efforts for finding a solution to the crisis, rather than intensifying it.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jan/1058.html
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Iran’s Secret Executions: Findings Challenge Judiciary’s False Narrative
(5 January 2012) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran published the first public list of 101 victims of secret group executions in Vakilabad Prison today. The Campaign called on the Iranian Parliament and judiciary to immediately institute a moratorium on executions and to move swiftly to abolish the death penalty.
“Unfortunately, many of these executions happen behind closed doors, without the involvement of lawyers or awareness of the victim’s family, and without access to a fair trial,” said Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi.
Ebadi added that Iran’s abuse of the death penalty has not been successful in fighting crime, saying:
“The Iranian judiciary and government know that the death penalty is not a suitable solution for fighting crime, particularly drug-related crimes. The basic question is this: why does the Iranian government use this type of punishment with such enthusiasm? The issue is that these executions only create fear and intimidation and serve only a political purpose. All of the statistics show that while the number of executions have increased the number of drug-related crimes have not decreased at all.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jan/1057.html
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Iranian activist gets 20-year jail term
Sohrab Razzaghi, an Iranian activist and a former professor at Allmaeh Tabatabai University, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison and a fine of 550 thousand euros.
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reports that the sentence was issued by Judge Salavati in Tehran, even though Razzaghi currently lives in the Netherlands.
Razzaghi denounced the sentence, saying he had denied all of the charges against him throughout the interrogations, and the prosecution did not present a single shred of evidence to prove him wrong.
Razzaghi was charged with “establishing a group aimed at toppling the regime and acting against national security, providing confidential information to outsiders and receiving money from international organizations.”
Razzaghi, currently residing in the Netherlands, said that since he has not reported to Evin Prison to serve out his sentence, the government will confiscate the $200,000 bail he put up for his release. He added that the 550,000-euro fine stipulated in the sentence amounts to all of the the money that the Koneshgaran Davtalab (volunteer activists) Organization had received in the five years of its existence from various organizations, such as United Nations agencies in Iran and international organizations such as Hivos and Internews.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jan/1055.html
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U.S. rescues Iranian hostages, with good timing
For the U.S. Navy, it was like hitting the public-relations jackpot: An aircraft carrier cruising the seas in the Middle East this week stumbled across an Iranian fishing vessel in distress, hijacked by pirates.
Forces from the aircraft carrier’s strike group swiftly made the most of the moment. They seized 15 Somali pirates without firing a shot and rescued 13 hungry Iranian fishermen who had been held hostage for several weeks.
There was no official response, much less a thank you, from the Iranian government Friday after the Navy released details of the rescue mission.
On Saturday, however, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast described the rescue as “humanitarian” act, correspondent Thomas Erdbrink reported from Tehran.
“We consider the actions of the U.S. forces in saving the lives of the Iranian seamen to be a humanitarian and positive act and we welcome such behaviour,” Mehmanparast told Iran’s Arabic-language broadcaster al-Alam.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/checkpoint-washington/post/us-picks-up-iranian-hostages-with-good-timing/2012/01/06/gIQAI56YfP_blog.html?wprss=checkpoint-washington
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Iranians React to U.S. Rescue of Fishermen
One day after the United States Navy rescued 13 Iranian fishermen from Somali pirates in the North Arabian Sea, the response from Iran ranged across a wide spectrum, from gratitude to suspicion.
Agence France-Presse reported that a foreign ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, was the most effusive. In an interview with Iran’s official Arabic-language broadcaster on Saturday, he said, “We consider the actions of the U.S. forces in saving the lives of the Iranian seamen to be a humanitarian and positive act, and we welcome such behavior.”
Iran’s foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, told another state-financed satellite channel, Press TV, that the American military’s rescue operation was fairly routine and would not lessen the tensions between the two nations.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/07/iranians-welcome-dismiss-and-complain-about-u-s-rescue-of-fishermen/?partner=rss&emc=rss
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Iran Rights Official Calls Homosexuality ‘Disease’
The secretary-general of the Iranian High Council for Human Rights has been quoted as telling a visiting German lawmaker that homosexuality is a disease.
“The West says that the marriage of homosexuals should be allowed under the human rights charter, however, we think it is sexual immorality and a disease,” Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency quoted Mohammad Javad Larijani as saying, according to dpa.
Fars reported that Larijani made his remarks during a meeting in Tehran with German lawmaker Tom Koenigs, who chairs the human rights committee in Germany’s parliament.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_rights_official_calls_homosexuality_disease/24444986.html
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Trita Parsi: Reckless talk of war with Iran makes confrontation a probability
The temperature between the West and Iran has increased dramatically. Escalation by both sides coupled with a reckless discourse that has normalised the idea of war have created an environment where military confrontation is a rising probability. The next escalatory step pondered by Europe – in the midst of its own economic crisis – is a total embargo on Iranian oil. An idea that a few months ago was considered a non-starter now has an air of inevitability.
Sanctions are rarely effective. But right before their imposition – at the moment where they remain a withdrawable threat – their effectiveness is at their height. The challenge with multilateral sanctions, however, is that the diplomatic resources required to create concensus around sanctions are so great that once the sanctions threat gains momentum, the commitment of the sanctioning countries to this path tends to become irreversible. Rather than utilising the threat of sanctions to compel a change in policy, they tend to confuse the means with the goal. Backing down from the threat becomes too costly so sanctions become unstoppable – and ineffective.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/trita-parsi-reckless-talk-of-war-with-iran-makes-confrontation-a-probability-6286410.html#
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Iran to carry out more naval drills in the Gulf
Only days after Iran completed a 10-day naval drill in the Persian Gulf, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps announced that another naval manoeuvre is set for February.
Admiral Ali Fadavi, of the IRGC naval force, announced that the drill will be carried out next month in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Vice President Mohammadreza Rahimi previously had said that if Iranian oil is put under an embargo, Iran will not allow a drop of oil to get through the Strait of Hormuz.
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iran-carry-out-more-naval-drills-gulf
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Pressed by U.S., Asian Countries Look for Ways to Reduce Purchases of Iranian Oil
Under growing pressure from the United States, some of Asia’s largest economies are reluctantly looking for options to reduce the amount of oil they buy from Iran, a move that would further tighten the economic vise on an increasingly defiant nation that announced plans for a new round of naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz.
The decision by South Korea and Japan to try to accommodate Washington’s demands follows reports that China has already reduced its purchase of Iranian crude in the past month in a pricing dispute with Tehran. Whatever the motives, the combined loss of sales threatens an economy already reeling, where the currency has plummeted in value, inflation has surged and the general public has expressed growing anxiety about the prospect of war.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/07/world/middleeast/amid-pressure-on-oil-iran-plans-new-round-of-military-exercises.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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Google is ‘a spying tool,’ Iran police chief says
A week after Iran issued regulations to crack down on Internet expression, the country’s police chief made his opinions about Web search very clear, telling the Iranian Labour News Agency that Google is not a search engine, but a “spying tool.”
People’s information should be better protected against enemies and cyber attacks, Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam told ILNA. His solution: Build a national Internet.
Iran’s information minister, Reza Taqipour Anvari, told the the Islamic Republic News Agency that he supported the notion, citing added benefits to a soon-to-be-launched national Internet — including cost, security and bandwidth.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/google-is-a-spying-tool-iran-police-chief-says/2012/01/10/gIQAl3b2nP_blog.html?wprss=blogpost
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Iran and the West Rediscover Oil as Weapon
Four decades after the 1973 oil shock, Iran and the West are once again embracing oil as a weapon. Tehran is threatening to block the Strait of Hormuz, while the industrialized countries are considering a boycott of Iranian oil. But both sides will suffer if such tactics are used.
Surprisingly enough, supertankers don’t burn very well. Although the crude oil they transport is highly flammable, there is not enough oxygen in their tanks to create an explosive mixture.
On average, 14 of these giant tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz, located between Iran and Oman, every day. If Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad actually ordered his forces to fire missiles at one of these tankers, quite a bit of firepower would be needed to set off a Hollywood-style inferno.
But the verbal attacks from Tehran are more than sufficient to set the global markets ablaze.
Last week, prices climbed significantly above the $100-a-barrel mark once again, despite all gloomy economic forecasts. Gasoline prices already reached an all-time high in Germany in 2011. And now the dispute over who controls the Persian Gulf, which has been triggered by Iran’s nuclear policies, is a sign that further escalation is on the horizon.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,808033,00.html#ref=rss
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US Presses Iran to Release American Sentenced for Spying
The United States is pressing Iran to release an American man who has been sentenced to death by an Iranian court on charges of spying for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. This comes at a time of rising tensions between the United States and Iran.
The White House and State Department say allegations that Amir Mirza Hekmati – an Iranian American dual citizen – worked for or was sent to Iran by the CIA are false, adding that if reports of the death sentence are true, the United States strongly condemns it.
A U.S. statement says Iran’s government “has a history of falsely accusing people of being spies, of eliciting forced confessions, and of holding innocent Americans for political reasons.”
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/US-Presses-Iran-to-Release-American-Sentenced-for-Spying-136969168.html
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Amid Currency Slide, Iranians Say ‘Dollar’ Texts Blocked
Mobile-phone users in Iran are complaining that text messages with the word “dollar” are being blocked, amid a dramatic drop in the value of the Iranian currency, the rial.
Last week, the rial fell to its lowest value against the U.S. dollar in the past two decades, with one dollar trading at 18,000 rials on the open market. (The official rate fluctuates around 11,000-12,000.)
The slide came after U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank on December 31.
Iranian media, including the “Shargh” daily, reported this week that all text messages containing the word “dollar” in Persian were being blocked.
AFP reported on January 10 that foreign journalists in Tehran, its own correspondent included, verified the block — but added that the word “euro” was being transmitted without problems.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_blocks_dollar_text_messages/24447302.html
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Iranian, Venezuelan leaders rebuff U.S., joke about bomb
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez lavished praise on each other on Monday, mocked U.S. disapproval and joked about having an atomic bomb at their disposal.
Despite their geographical distance, the fiery anti-U.S. ideologues have forged increasingly close ties between their fellow OPEC nations in recent years, although concrete projects have often lagged behind the rhetoric.
“One of the targets that Yankee imperialism has in its sights is Iran, which is why we are showing our solidarity,” Chavez said during a joint press conference. “When we meet, the devils go crazy,” he said, mocking U.S. warnings that Latin American nations should not help the Islamic Republic.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-venezuela-irantre80826j-20120109,0,3812529.story
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Pentagon pushes back on Iranian warnings on U.S. aircraft carrier
“The deployment of U.S. military assets in the Persian Gulf region will continue as it has for decades,” Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said in a statement sent to Yahoo News Tuesday. “These are regularly scheduled movements in accordance with our longstanding commitments to the security and stability of the region and in support of ongoing operations.”
“The U.S. Navy operates under international maritime conventions to maintain a constant state of high vigilance in order to ensure the continued, safe flow of maritime traffic in waterways critical to global commerce,” Little’s statement continued. “We are committed to protecting maritime freedoms that are the basis for global prosperity; this is one of the main reasons our military forces operate in the region.”
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/envoy/pentagon-pushes-back-iranian-warnings-u-aircraft-carrier-165850384.html
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Carrier Carl Vinson joins Stennis in 5th Fleet
The carrier Carl Vinson has arrived in 5th Fleet, putting naval forces closer to Iran as tensions between that country and the United States continue to escalate.
Vinson, as well as embarked Carrier Air Wing 17, cruiser Bunker Hill and destroyer Halsey, entered 5th Fleet on Jan. 9, where it is expected to support Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Navy and Defense Department officials said last week that threats and military exercises from Iran would not deter U.S. forces from continuing to work in the region and that operations were running as usual with no special response to Iran’s provocations.
The carrier John C. Stennis also is in 5th Fleet supporting OEF. The Navy didn’t disclose the Vinson’s exact location, but carriers supporting the war in Afghanistan typically do not operate from the Persian Gulf.
On Jan. 3, Iranian Army chief Ataollah Salehi warned Stennis not to operate in the Gulf.
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2012/01/navy-carrier-carl-vinson-joins-stennis-5th-fleet-011012w/
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Obama ready to strike to stop nuclear Iran, ex-adviser says
No one should doubt that President Barack Obama is prepared to use military force to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon if sanctions and diplomacy fail, the president’s former special assistant on Iran said.
Obama has “made it very clear” that he regards a nuclear-armed Iran as so great a threat to international security that “the Iranians should never think that there’s a reluctance to use the force” to stop them, Dennis Ross, who served two years on Obama’s National Security Council and a year as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s special adviser on Iran, said in an interview yesterday.
“There are consequences if you act militarily, and there’s big consequences if you don’t act,” said Ross, who in a two-hour interview at the Bloomberg Washington office laid out a detailed argument against those who say Obama would sooner “contain” a nuclear-armed Iran than strike militarily.
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120110/POLITICS03/201100411/1022/rss10
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Let’s Hope Iran Tries To Close The World’s Oil Spigot
What keeps the U.S. Navy’s top officer awake at night? “The Strait of Hormuz,” Adm. Jonathan Greenert confessed during a speech on Tuesday morning. Greenert meant that he’s worried Iran will close one of the planet’s most strategically important waterways, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil flows. The Iranians have spent weeks threatening to do just that.
Greenert is certainly right to worry, especially as the U.S.S. John C. Stennis‘ battle group just passed through the strait. But in a sense, he should hope Iran tries to close the Strait of Hormuz. There are few mistakes Iran could make that would be worse for it in the long run.
Why? Because Iran would suddenly be responsible for sending world energy prices skyrocketing — perhaps to $200 a barrel — after a disruption of Gulf oil shipping. Washington usually has a hard sell when convincing other countries that Iran’s regional bellicosity and lack of transparency on its nuclear program merits a tough response. But when Iran hits the entire world in the wallet, the argument gets substantially easier.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/01/strait-of-hormuz/
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Traders expect Iran’s currency to fall further
According to khabar online, reporting from Tehran, Iran’s currency rial continued its fall trading at 17,200 to a U.S. Dollar on Tuesday. While the government officials have stated they will bring the currency situation under control, the open market traders are predicting further fall of the currency in the coming days due to the high demand for foreign currencies.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jan/1107.html
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Turkey Resists US Sanctions Against Iran Despite US Envoy Visit
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns is visiting close ally Turkey to further press international sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear energy program. However, Ankara remains opposed to the new U.S.-led measures.
Although Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has ruled out enforcing new U.S.-led sanctions against Iran, American envoy William Burns is in Ankara trying to change Turkey’s mind. Turkey enforces United Nations measures against Iran, but refuses to join other sanctions pushed by the U.S. and the European Union.
Semih Idiz, who writes for the Turkish newspaper Milliyet, said Burns is the latest in a string of high-level American officials to visit Turkey.
“Turkey has made it clear it’s against sanctions on Iran. So now we see Washington actively lobbying Turkey at the highest level. This adds pressure on Turkey, of course. But it doesn’t resolve Turkey’s dilemma of having to tread a cautious line between these two sides,” said Idiz.
Turkey claims Iranians will face undue economic hardship if it complies with additional U.S. sanctions that target Iran’s energy sector.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jan/1095.html
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Iran’s Defense Minister downplays UK decision to send powerful warship to Persian Gulf
Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi has downplayed Britain’s decision to dispatch its most advanced warship to the Persian Gulf, calling the move “unimportant.” He made the remarks after a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
Britain said on Saturday it plans to send its most powerful destroyer, named HMS Daring, to the Persian Gulf amid threats by Iran to block the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil shipping lane, the Economic Times reported.
According to the Telegraph, HMS Daring has been fitted with new technology that will give it the ability to shoot down missiles.
The one-billion-pound destroyer, which will leave Portsmouth next on Wednesday, also carries the world’s most sophisticated naval radar, capable of tracking multiple incoming threats from missiles to fighter jets.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jan/1090.html
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Government critics disqualified from running for re-election
Iran’s Ministry of the Interior has disqualified a number of current MPs from running in the upcoming Parliamentary elections.
Ali Motahari, Hamidreza Katouzian, Alireza Mahjoub, Ali Abbaspour Tehrani, Fatemeh Ajorloo, Abbasali Noura, Peymon Forouzesh, Ghodratollah Alikhani and Daryoosh Ghanbari, who have all been involved in strong criticism of the administration over the past year, have been disqualified by the ministry, according to Iranian media.
While the actual reason for the disqualification has not been announced, Ali Motahari says it’s because of the election article demanding belief and commitment to Islam, the constitution and the supreme leadership.
Although Motahari belongs to a conservative group, the Principalists, he has severely criticized the administration and, in the past month, he went so far as to hand in his resignation to the parliamentary speaker over Parliament’s refusal to summon President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for questioning on a series of administrative irregularities.
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/government-critics-disqualified-running-re-election
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Henk, dank U voor uw werk, zijn er echt heel waardevolle informatie.
Dankzij een miljoen!
Iran embargo gathers support in Asia, Europe
U.S. allies in Asia and Europe voiced support on Thursday for Washington’s drive to cut Iran’s oil exports, though fear of self-inflicted economic pain is curbing enthusiasm for an embargo that a defiant Iran says will not halt its nuclear program.
As a newspaper close to the clerical establishment called for retaliatory assassinations of Israeli officials after the latest mystery killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist, a former U.N. inspector said a new, almost bomb-proof plant could provide Iran enough enriched uranium for an atom bomb in just a year.
Such timetables, while Iran denies all Western charges that it even wants nuclear weapons, have added to speculation that Israel and the United States could resort to a military adventure against the Islamic Republic – something an aide to Russian leader Vladimir Putin said was growing more likely.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/12/us-iran-idUSTRE8090ZL20120112?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
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Adversaries of Iran Said to Be Stepping Up Covert Actions
As arguments flare in Israel and the United States about a possible military strike to set back Iran’s nuclear program, an accelerating covert campaign of assassinations, bombings, cyberattacks and defections appears intended to make that debate irrelevant, according to current and former American officials and specialists on Iran.
The campaign, which experts believe is being carried out mainly by Israel, apparently claimed its latest victim on Wednesday when a bomb killed a 32-year-old nuclear scientist in Tehran’s morning rush hour.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/world/middleeast/iran-adversaries-said-to-step-up-covert-actions.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
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Iran Outrage Over Scientist Killing Deepens as It Signals Revenge
Iran expressed deepening fury at Israel and the United States on Thursday over the drive-by bombing that killed a nuclear scientist in Tehran the day before and signaled that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps may carry out revenge assassinations.
News of the scientist’s killing dominated Iran’s state-run media, which were filled with vitriolic denunciations both of Israel, seen in Iran as the main suspect in the killing, and the United States, where top officials have gone out of their way to issue strongly worded denials of responsibility.
Israeli officials, who regard Iran as Israel’s main enemy, have not categorically denied any Israeli role in the killing of the scientist, which came against a backdrop of growing pressure on Iran over its disputed nuclear program. Western nations suspect that Iran is working toward building a nuclear weapon, despite Iran’s repeated claims that its program is peaceful.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/13/world/middleeast/iran-outrage-over-scientist-killing-deepens-as-it-signals-revenge.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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Japan Says It Will Reduce Iran Oil Imports
Japan’s finance minister told visiting U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that his country will take steps to reduce its dependency on oil imports from Iran, taking a much more conciliatory approach to the matter than China did a few days ago.
“We want to take actions to further reduce our 10% dependency as soon as possible in a planned manner,” Japan Finance Minister Jun Azumi said.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204257504577155614235298468.html?mod=fox_australian
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‘What Could Possibly Motivate Israel to Kill Iranian Nuclear Scientists?’
You have to explain to me why the Zionists are so committed to picking a fight with Iran? What could possibly motivate Israel to kill Iranian nuclear scientists? It makes no sense, unless Israel is looking to start a war to extend its military domination of the Middle East (everyone knows Israel has the strongest military in the Middle East). So you’ll have to explain this to me, please.
There seems to be an epidemic of thickness on this question. Let me be clear: Just because I think an attack on Iran’s nuclear complex is a bad idea doesn’t mean I think Iran poses no threat to Israel. Do you want to know why Israel is taking the actions it may be taking against Iran? Because Iran has been engaged in full-blown but subterranean war against Israel for almost three decades. The Iranian regime is committed to the physical elimination of Israel. That’s right — a member-state of the U.N. is advocating the complete destruction of another member-state. The Iranian leadership regularly uses Nazi-style rhetoric against Israel and Jews, frequently resorting to epidemiological metaphors — Israel is a cancer, Israel is a tumor, language that smacks of Mein Kampf.
But more important than Iran’s eliminationist rhetoric is Iran’s actions: Iran is the prime sponsor of Hezbollah, an avowedly-antisemitic terrorist organization that seeks to kill Israeli civilians. Iran is also a prime supporter of Hamas, which also seeks out Israeli civilians to kill (and it even brags about the number of Israeli civilians it has murdered). Hezbollah and Hamas, just like Iran, seek the physical elimination of Israel. Their agenda isn’t to create a Palestinian state in Gaza and on the West Bank; their agenda is to replace a Jewish state with an Arab-Muslim state. If you were an Israeli leader, and you understood that Iran works assiduously to murder your civilians, and to bring about an end to your people’s collective existence, and then you learned that Iran may be trying to build a nuclear weapon, well, is it so unreasonable to think that Israel might choose to fight back?
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/01/what-could-possibly-motivate-israel-to-kill-iranian-nuclear-scientists/251280/
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Well, This Is Very Hitlerish
Yousuf Al-Badri
http://www.google.be/#hl=nl&cp=15&gs_id=1s&xhr=t&q=yousuf+al+badri&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&source=hp&pbx=1&oq=yousuf+al+badri&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=42d0d193227bc02c&biw=1024&bih=574
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Iran Calls On UN To Condemn Slaying Of Nuclear Scientist
Iran has called on the United Nations to condemn the killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist, calling it a “terrorist attack” orchestrated by foreign powers who want to disrupt Iran’s nuclear program.
In a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Iran’s Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee called on the UN to condemn the killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan on January 11, as well as two previous attacks that left two nuclear scientists dead and another wounded.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_calls_on__un_to_condemn_slaying_of_scientist/24450183.html
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The Rial Drops, And Iran Blocks The News
The value of Iran’s currency, the rial, has dropped again against the U.S. dollar. One U.S. dollar was being traded on the open market at up to 17,000 rials, according to reports by official Iranian news agencies.
Last week, the rial fell to its lowest value against the dollar in the past two decades, with a dollar being sold by money traders for 18,000 rials. (The official rate fluctuates around 11,000-12,000.)
The value of the Iranian currency began its rollercoaster ride after U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank on December 31.
Iranian officials say they are working on measures to stabilize the rial. The head of Iran’s Central Bank, Mahmud Bahmani, said last week Iran had some plans to bring the foreign-currency market under control, while adding that it was not in the country’s interest to announce them publicly.
Meanwhile, Tehran has done what it knows best: censoring and disrupting the free flow of information.
http://www.rferl.org/content/rial_drops_iran_censors/24446672.html
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Challenging Iran’s Supreme Leader: Letters To Khamenei
Journalist and filmmaker Mohammad Nourizad has repeatedly defied one of Iran’s most sacred taboos.
Nourizad, who used to be a columnist for the ultra-hardline “Kayhan” daily which is said to reflect the views of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has now challenged Khamenei in open letters in which he has accused him of mistreating Iranians and isolating the country. Nourizad has recently called on religious and political figures to join his efforts and challenge the Iranian leader in “polite,” but frank and open letters.
The call has been answered by a number of Iranians inside and outside the country, including influential Iranian religious scholar Abdolkarim Soroush, who in a December 22 letter warned Khamenei that his rule would be over soon. Some observers believe the unprecedented campaign could deal a blow to Khamenei’s stature as the ultimate authority in the country.
http://www.rferl.org/content/challenging_iran_supreme_leader_in_letters/24431733.html
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Turkey will uphold UN sanctions, not EU sanctions, against Iran
Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said Thursday that his country was not seeking exemption from the planned new sanctions against Iran, which are expected to include an embargo on importing oil from Iran.
“We haven‘t received notification of any sanctions and haven‘t asked for an exemption,” he told dpa, pointing out that Turkey is not a member of the European Union and so is not obliged to impose EU-backed sanctions.
“We‘re only obliged to follow decisions taken by the UN,” he said.
EU foreign ministers are expected to meet on January 23 to decide on whether to impose a ban on imports of crude oil from Iran, in response to Tehran‘s refusal to curtail its nuclear programme.
Earlier this month, US President Barack Obama signed into law a 662-billion-dollar defence spending bill that provides for a new round of economic sanctions aimed also against Iran‘s central bank.
The US law would put sanctions on all foreign firms and banks that do business with Iran‘s central bank, presenting the first threat to the country‘s oil industry.
Tildiz‘s comments came as the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Ali Larijani, extended his visit to Turkey by a day.
http://en.europeonline-magazine.eu/turkey-will-uphold-un-sanctions-not-eu-sanctions-against-iran_181128.html
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Delay may be only option
Once again, a bomb in Tehran has lifted the veil on a secret effort to derail Iran’s nuclear program.
This campaign appears to be having a real impact: Iran’s drive towards nuclear weapons capability is not progressing as quickly as Pakistan’s, for example. Sabotage has already imposed significant delays.
Buying time is a respectable goal of policy, particularly as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will step down as president next year, and while Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, is 72 and in poor health.
Yet covert action can achieve nothing more than delay. If Iran’s leaders or their successors are determined to acquire the means to build nuclear weapons, then they will succeed eventually, even if the West were to launch a war to destroy their key installations.
Eventually, the world may have to live with a nuclear-armed Iran – or at least a nuclear-capable one permanently on the threshold of building the ultimate weapon.
While no Western government, let alone Israel or the Arab monarchies of the Gulf, is prepared to say that it could live with a nuclear-armed Iran, their actions suggest they are preparing for it.
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/delay-may-be-only-option-20120112-1pxg2.html
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Russia warns of possible U.S. military attack on Iran
The head of Russia’s National Security Council says the threat of a U.S. military attack is “very real” and maintains that the U.S. will do everything in its power to change the Iranian regime.
In a interview with the Russian newspaper Kommersant on January 12, Nikolai Patrushev said: “Israel is provoking the United States in order to intensify conflicts with Iran.”
He said the U.S. views Iran as its “major problem” and “there is real danger of a U.S. military attack on Iran.”
Patrushev said that the United States will make every effort to turn Iran from an “enemy state” into a “partner.”
Patrushev dismissed statements about growing evidence that Iran’s nuclear program has military dimensions, saying: “For years we have been hearing that Iran has military ambitions in its nuclear program, but no one has been able to prove such a thing.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jan/1130.html
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Heel hartelijk dank voor de opsteker Maxim.
Ik ben er al heel lang mee bezig zo ongeveer vanaf 13 Juni 2009 via verschillende sites en krijg ook regelmatig positieve reacties.
Maar elke keer doet me weer goed.
BTW veel mensen schijnen niet in de gaten te hebben dat het volgende grote conflikt in het midden oosten steeds dichterbij komt.
Ik hoop dat Ik het mis heb maar Ik zie het duister in.
Iran accuses US and Britain of role in killing of nuclear scientist
Iran has accused the US and Britain of being behind the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist this week in Tehran.
Iran’s foreign ministry has sent a diplomatic letter to the US saying that it has “evidence and reliable information” that the CIA provided “guidance, support and planning” to assassins “directly involved” in Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan’s killing, the IRNA state news agency reported on Saturday.
Ahmadi-Roshan, a 32-year-old chemist, was killed in Wednesday morning traffic by motorcycle-borne assassins. It was the fifth time in two years that a scientist from the state nuclear programme had been targeted. Each time, the hit squad used a motorcycle.
His death has prompted calls in Iran for retaliation against those deemed responsible
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/14/iran-accuses-us-britain-scientist
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Iran lashes out at West over slain scientist, but hints at diplomatic opening
Iran on Friday hurled new threats of retaliation against the West for the assassination of one of its nuclear scientists but also signaled a readiness to negotiate on at least one of the nuclear disputes behind the country’s worsening feud with the United States.
Even as angry throngs swarmed the memorial services for slain scientist Mostafa
Ahmadi-Roshan, state-run news media confirmed a visit to the country later this month by a special U.N. delegation to discuss alleged secret research by Iran on designing a nuclear warhead. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which will dispatch its delegation to Tehran on Jan. 28, has been pressing Iranian leaders for years to come clean about experiments.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/angry-iran-buries-slain-scientist-vows-revenge-against-us-israel/2012/01/13/gIQAT65CwP_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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Israel Says Sanctions Hurt Iran
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said in an interview published Saturday that new economic sanctions aimed at stopping Iran’s contentious nuclear program appeared to be having an effect and, if combined with a threat of military action led by the United States, could succeed.
“For the first time, I see Iran wobble,” he told the newspaper The Australian in Jerusalem, particularly citing sanctions on the central bank. He said if “coupled with a clear statement from the international community led by the U.S. to act militarily to stop Iran if the sanctions fail, Iran may consider not going through the pain. There’s no point in gritting your teeth if you’re going to be stopped anyway.
“In any case, the Iranian economy is showing signs of strain.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/14/world/middleeast/israeli-leader-benjamin-netanyahu-says-sanctions-on-iran-could-succeed-if-paired-with-military-threat.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
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US intensifies pressure on Iran over Strait of Hormuz threat
The US has opened secret diplomatic communications with Tehran to warn the Iranian leadership that Washington will use force to prevent it carrying through a threat to close the Strait of Hormuz.
The New York Times reported that the White House has made indirect contact with the Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to warn him against blockading the sea lanes in retaliation for increased sanctions against Tehran’s suspected attempts to develop nuclear weapons.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/13/us-intensifies-pressure-iran-strait-hormuz
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Official: U.S. vessels harassed by high-speed Iranian boats
At a time of heightened tensions with Iran, U.S. military officials told CNN Friday that U.S. military and Coast Guard ships had two close encounters earlier this month with high-speed Iranian boats in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf that exhibited provocative behavior.
The incidents occurred January 6, according to a senior U.S. military official.
The USS New Orleans, an amphibious transport ship was sailing through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf last Friday when three Iranian Navy speed boats rapidly approached within 500 yards of the ship, the official said. The Iranians did not respond to whistle signals or voice queries from the New Orleans. The lack of response disregards standard maritime protocols, the official said. The boats eventually broke away.
On the same day, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Adak was also harassed by high-speed Iranian Navy boats while operating 75 miles east of Kuwait City. Iranian personnel in the small boats appeared to be holding AK-47 rifles and at least one video camera, the official said. U.S. personnel on the cutter also reported seeing a forward gun that was manned on one of the Iranian boats, according to the official. Eventually, communications with a larger Iranian vessel in the area were established and the speed boats stopped their harassment.
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/13/us/iran-boats-tensions/index.html?section=cnn_latest
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Central Bank tries to control currency market
Iran’s Central Bank has announced that anyone in possession of foreign currency without a bank receipt will be put under arrest beginning Sunday January 15.
Ebrahim Darvishi, the supervising deputy of the Central Bank, told Fars news agency that according to a new directive, foreign currencies without a bank receipt will be considered as contraband, and violators will be subjected to imprisonment and a fine of double the amount in their possession.
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/central-bank-tries-control-currency-market
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Iran ready to resume nuclear talks
Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Iran’s Parliament, announced today that Iran is prepared to resume talks with the G5+1 over its nuclear activities.
ISNA reports that on Friday, January 13, Larijani said: “Iran has always been prepared for talks with the G5+1 because Iran’s nuclear activities are very open and clear.”
He added: “Our issues can be resolved through negotiation, as long as talks are serious and not mischievous.”
He said Turkey is ready to host the talks, adding that “since Turkey is our friend and brother, we agree.”
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iran-ready-resume-nuclear-talks
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Ahmadinejad Has Little to Show After Latin American Trip
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ended a tour of Latin America this week with little to show, but support for his resistance to Western efforts to end his country’s nuclear program.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad’s last stop was Ecuador.
At a news conference with President Rafael Correa, the Iranian leader denied widespread international suspicions that his country is developing nuclear weapons.
“The nuclear question is a political excuse,” said Ahmedinejad. “They all know that Iran is not trying to make an atomic bomb. Iran isn’t so imprudent as they are to spend its money and not be able to use these bombs.”
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Ahmadinejad-Has-Little-to-Show-After-Latin-American-Trip-137294623.html
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http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/151667#.TxYH4IHv6QJ
Iran: We’ll Bring the War to Israel, and ‘Beyond’
Iran said Thursday that it would respond to Israel’s ‘cold war’ against it – with attacks against Israelis, and possibly Jews worldwide.
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As Powers Maneuver, Israel Says No Decision Yet to Attack Iran
Defense Minister Ehud Barak of Israel said on Wednesday that any decision on attacking Iran because of its nuclear program was “very far off,” apparently seeking to lower the tone of increasingly nervous discourse as powers maneuver in advance of European moves to intensify sanctions against Tehran.
At the same time, Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia renewed his country’s aversion to sanctions and military threats against Tehran, while Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi of Iran said his country was ready to resume negotiations with the outside powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — trying to broker a settlement.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-program-sanctions-russia-israel-attack.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
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Iran Tightens Its Security for Scientists After Killing
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran has ordered extra security for scientists because of the drive-by assassination last week of the deputy director of the country’s primary uranium enrichment facility, which he attributed to “the evil hands of arrogance and Zionist agents,” the state-run news media reported Tuesday.
The nature of the extra security was not disclosed, but it was reported a day after Iran’s Parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, another outspoken promoter of Iran’s nuclear independence, said that investigators had identified and detained an unspecified number of suspects in the assassination of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, the deputy director at the Natanz enrichment site. Mr. Roshan was killed in broad daylight last Wednesday by a motorcyclist who slapped a magnetized bomb on the scientist’s car during Tehran’s morning rush and escaped, according to Iran’s official accounts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/world/middleeast/after-iran-scientists-death-arrests-and-heightened-security.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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Iran says in touch with powers on new talks, EU denies it
Iran said on Wednesday it was in touch with big powers to reopen talks soon but the European Union denied this, and Britain said Tehran would have to show it was serious if it wanted to avoid more EU sanctions over suspicions it is seeking nuclear weapons.
A year after the last talks fell apart, confrontation is brewing as the EU prepares to intensify sanctions against Iran with an embargo on its economically vital oil exports.
EU diplomats said on Wednesday that member governments had also agreed in principle to freeze the assets of Iran’s central bank alongside the planned oil embargo, but had yet to agree how to protect non-oil trade from sanctions.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/18/us-iran-idUSTRE80H15Z20120118?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
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EU Looks to Begin Iran Oil Ban on July 1
The European Union is coalescing around a July 1 start for its proposed crude-oil embargo on Iran, diplomats said Wednesday, as international efforts to ratchet up pressure on Iran progressed.
EU members have agreed in principle to a ban on oil imports from Iran, but concerns remain about the need for a transition to alternative supply sources.
“We are heading toward July 1,” an diplomat said, naming This was the compromise date suggested by the EU’s foreign-service unit on Friday.
Member states have also agreed that the need for an embargo should be re-evaluated half way through the transition period, diplomats said. The review would take into account the impact of the sanctions on individual countries and international oil markets, diplomats said.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204555904577169021628065872.html?mod=fox_australian
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Three Iranian journalists arrested in fresh crackdown
Marzieh Rasouli, Parastoo Dokouhaki and Sahamoddin Bourghani had worked for reformist media outlets
At least three prominent journalists have been arrested in Iran in a fresh crackdown on press freedom ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections in March.
Two journalists, Marzieh Rasouli and Parastoo Dokouhaki, and photojournalist Sahamoddin Bourghani were arrested separately by officials believed to be from the Iranian security services.
Rasouli, who has been working for the arts and culture sections of some of the country’s leading reformist newspapers, is reported to have been arrested at home in the early hours of Tuesday and taken to Tehran’s Evin prison.
According to reports published on Iranian opposition websites, security officers showed a warrant for her arrest, which accused her of “acting against national security”, a vague charge the Islamic regime has often used to convict many of the country’s activists and journalists, especially since Iran’s 2009 disputed presidential elections.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/18/three-iranian-journalists-arrested
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Iran nuclear: Russia’s Lavrov warns against attack
The Russian foreign minister has warned that a Western military strike against Iran would be “a catastrophe”.
Sergei Lavrov said an attack would lead to “large flows” of refugees from Iran and would “fan the flames” of sectarian tension in the Middle East.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak earlier said any decision on an Israeli attack on Iran was “very far off”.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister said talks on its nuclear programme would “most probably” take place in Istanbul.
Ali Akbar Salehi told reporters during a visit to Turkey that negotiations were going on about venue and date, and the timings would be settled soon.
But the UK Foreign Office said that there were “no dates or concrete plans” for talks, as Tehran was “yet to demonstrate clearly that it is willing to respond to [EU foreign policy chief] Baroness Ashton’s letter and negotiate without preconditions.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16613485
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More on That Postponed Anti-Missile Exercise
The Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren (who has made occasional appearances on this blog), issued this statement in response to questions about why the joint U.S.-Israeli anti-missile exercise, “Austere Challenge 12,” has been postponed (I wrote about this in the previous post):
The exercise between the U.S. Army and the Israel Defense Forces, scheduled to be held this spring, has been postponed to the latter half of the year. The decision, taken jointly by the European Command (EUCOM) and by the IDF, stemmed solely from technical issues. Such postponements are routine and do not reflect political or strategic concerns. The United States and Israel remain committed to holding the exercise — code-named Austere Challenge 12 — the largest and most robust in their historic alliance.
The important question, one we can’t answer yet, is this: How is Tehran interpreting this postponement? I can’t imagine that Iranian leaders see this as a sign of American and Israeli fortitude.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/01/more-on-that-postponed-anti-missile-exercise/251550/
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Are We Sliding Toward War With Iran?
With so much alarming going on in the Middle East, it’s hard to keep track of everything that seems to be going wrong. No sooner had the Libyan civil war ended than another erupted in Syria. Iraq appears determined to follow, and perhaps overtake their Syrian neighbors. Egypt remains locked in a multi-sided struggle among the military, the Islamists and the secular liberals. And disturbing reports of low-level, but growing unrest in Saudi Arabia have begun to emerge.
Amid all of this, the one place that the United States has resolutely marched forward—or perhaps been dragged by the Congress and our European allies—has been in applying ever greater pressure on Iran. But if the Obama administration’s forward progress is clear enough when it comes to its Iran policy, its ultimate destination is not. The sanctions against Iran may well succeed on their own terms while producing regrettable, if unintended, consequences.
http://www.tnr.com/article/world/99741/war-iran-america
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Arab Spring Challenges Western, Regional Powers
Middle Eastern countries that had uprisings last year are moving to establish democracy, at varying paces and with varying success. Meanwhile, major powers in the region and elsewhere are working to cope with the changes.
The uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya created considerable euphoria in those countries. And the changes were welcomed by Western powers, too, even as they raised concerns that the region’s new leaders might not be as friendly as the autocrats who were ousted.
Philip Luther is the interim director of Middle Eastern affairs at Amnesty International.
“There is a certain irony there, a certain nervousness from outside about what the new governments might be and who they might be and what political parties they might be formed of,” said Luther.
Luther says the West should not get too wrapped up in its concerns about what the new Middle Eastern governments might do on foreign policy and human rights issues, and should judge them on their actions instead.
At the same time, he says regional powers in the Middle East, especially Iran’s clerical leaders and the Saudi royal family, have been inconsistent at best in their responses to the uprisings, focusing more on their own interests than universal rights and democracy.
“What is glaring is the inconsistency of those messages and the hypocrisy, in fact, of what lies behind it because at the same time while criticizing what is going on in some parts of the region they are missing out what is happening in others and what is happening on their own doorstep,” said Luther.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Arab-Spring-Challenges-Western-Regional-Powers-137494188.html
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Want A ‘U.S. Drone’? You Can Order One From Iran
Iranian state radio has said that an Iranian company is sending the United States a model of the American surveillance drone captured by Tehran, AP reports:
Tuesday’s report said the company will send the miniature of the RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone to the Obama administration in response to a formal request from Washington last month asking Tehran to return the aircraft that went down over Iran in December.
State radio said the model will be one eightieth the size of the original aircraft. The report says the company also plans to sell the models on the Iranian market for about 70,000 rials, or around $4.
http://www.rferl.org/content/us_drone_order_from_iran/24454852.html
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David Cameron accuses Iran of supplying Syria weapons
David Cameron accused the Iranian regime of supplying weapons for the Syrian onslaught on democracy protests yesterday as Russia’s foreign minister warned that the West was set on a path to war with Tehran.
The Prime Minister revealed that British officials had been told that weapons shipments from Iran to Syria had been intercepted by Turkey and that intelligence reports confirmed that Hizbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese movement, was actively involved in the slaughter of Syria.
“There is now growing evidence that Iran is providing a huge amount of support,” he told the House of Commons. “There have been interceptions of some shipments by Turkey which are particularly interesting.
“People should also know that Hizbollah is an organisation standing up and supporting this wretched tyrant who is killing so many of his own people.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9023322/David-Cameron-accuses-Iran-of-supplying-Syria-weapons.html
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Series of incriminations rips through Iran’s conservative camp
The conflict between different factions of the conservative camp in Iran has recently escalated with a series of incriminations exchanged between the president and supporters of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of embezzling from the state treasury, the reformist website Jras reported.
Ahmadinejad’s statements, attributed to insider sources, coincided with a report by the French newspaper Libération that tackled the issue of Mojtaba’s bank accounts abroad. According to the report, documents at the Iranian Ministry of Security prove that Khamenei junior has recently withdrawn all his money from foreign banks.
The Iranian president’s accusations, observers argue, indicate his refusal to become the scapegoat in the conflict currently going on between different parties in the conservative clique.
The accusations, in fact, came in response to attempts by the president’s opponents to lash out at him through tarnishing the image of his closest aides like his advisor and chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei and whose daughter is married to Ahmadinejad’s son.
According to Jras, a delegation comprised of Deputy Judiciary Chief Ibrahim Raeisi, Minister of Intelligence and National Security Heydar Moslehi, and head of the General Inspection Organization Mostafa Pur-Mohammadi, all known to be pro-Khamenei, met with Ahmadinejad and demanded that he dismisses Mashaei.
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/01/15/188461.html
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2088431/U-S-threatens-Iran-crucial-global-oil-route-blocked.html?ITO=1490
Did Obama seek secret talks with Iran? White House on the defensive after claims President sent confidential letter to the Ayatollah.
Obama ‘demands talks’ with Iran as it threatens to shut strategic Strait of Hormuz over West sanctions, says Iranian lawmaker.
U.S. military officials say country prepared for naval clash over waterway.
Russians warn West over sanctions against Iran that would ‘hurt the people’.
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Iran warns region against “dangerous” stance on Hormuz
Iran’s foreign minister warned Arab neighbors on Thursday not to put themselves in a “dangerous position” by aligning themselves too closely with the United States in the escalating dispute over Tehran’s nuclear activity.
Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, used for a third of the world’s seaborne oil trade, if pending Western moves to ban Iranian crude exports cripple its lifeblood energy sector, fanning fears of a slide into wider Middle East war.
European Union foreign ministers are expected at a meeting on Monday to agree an oil embargo against Iran and a freeze on the assets of its central bank, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said, confirming diplomatic leaks.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s No. 1 oil exporter, riled Iran earlier this week when it said it could swiftly raise oil output for key customers if needed, a scenario that could transpire if Iranian exports were embargoed.
“We want peace and tranquility in the region. But some of the countries in our region, they want to direct other countries 12,000 miles away from this region,” Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said in English during a visit to Turkey.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/19/us-iran-idUSTRE80H15Z20120119?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
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Earthquake hits northeast Iran, 100 injured
About 100 people were injured when an earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale hit northeastern Iran on Thursday, state television reported.
The epicenter of the quake, which struck at 4:05 p.m., was 10 km (6 miles) outside the city of Neyshabur, some 70 km from the holy city of Mashhad, the official IRNA news agency said.
There had so far been 36 aftershocks since the main quake, IRNA said, adding that some buildings had been damaged and windows shattered in villages near Neyshabur.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/19/us-iran-quake-idUSTRE80I1J720120119?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
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New Bid to Stifle Iran Aid to Syria
U.S. officials have uncovered an effort by Iran to help Syria mask its oil exports and evade an American and European embargo, in a potent new sign of Tehran’s campaign to bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as his regime cracks down on public opposition.
American officials investigating the Iranian operation said it is designed to quietly ship Syrian crude oil to Iran, where it can be sold on the international market, with revenue going back to Damascus.
Transit records document one such shipment, involving more than 91,000 metric tons of crude, which took place last month.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203735304577169191656832540.html?mod=fox_australian
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Iran’s police confiscates dollars without receipt Video
A new law allows Iran’s police to stop and search anyone carrying foreign currencies and ask them to provide sufficient documents.
The legislation – which was proposed and implemented by Iran’s central bank – aims to help stop the ever-growing value of the dollar vs the rial.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16623747
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Exclusive – Turkey works to cut dependence on Iranian oil
Turkish refiner Tupras plans to cut its dependence on imports of Iranian oil and will meet Saudi Arabian authorities this month, industry sources familiar with the company’s strategy said on Thursday, as Western powers crack down on Iran’s oil sales.
Turkey imports more than 30 percent of its daily consumption from Iran and has so far given no indication that it will comply with a planned European Union import embargo on Iranian crude.
But one of the sources said that Iranian threats to shut down the world’s most important oil export route, the Strait of Hormuz, had helped push Turkish oil officials to try to reduce the country’s heavy dependence on Iran’s oil.
Iran has made no move to shut the world’s most important oil export route, which had a daily flow of almost 17 million barrels last year, but has threatened action if Europe implements new sanctions.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/1/20/worldupdates/2012-01-19T185412Z_2_TRE80I1MN_RTROPTT_0_UK-TURKEY-IRAN-OIL&sec=Worldupdates
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Iran calls for Israel to be “punished”
An ally of Iran’s supreme leader called on Friday for Israel to be “punished” for killing a nuclear scientist and the top U.S. general urged his Israeli ally to coordinate with Washington as crisis builds in the Middle East.
Alarmed Arab neighbors in the Gulf made a plea to scale back confrontation over Iran’s nuclear program. France, calling on China and Russia to back Western sanctions, said time was running out for diplomacy to deflect Tehran from a course that Washington and Israel have threatened to stop by war.
One diplomat told Reuters that the major powers seeking to negotiate an end to Iran’s suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons would probably issue a statement later on Friday laying out what Tehran would need to do to resume talks. The group was expected to provide details of an offer it made to Iran in October in an effort to bring Iranians back to the negotiating table.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/20/us-iran-idUSTRE80H15Z20120120?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
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U.S. military chief in Israel for talks on Iran
The United States’ top military official held talks Friday with Israeli leaders in an effort to coordinate responses to Iran’s nuclear program and urged closer cooperation between the two allies.
Remarks by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey before the talks appeared to reflect concern in Washington about possible Israeli plans to move independently to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“We have many interests in common in the region in this very dynamic time, and the more we can continue to engage each other, the better off we’ll all be,” Dempsey said at the start of a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak at his Tel Aviv office.
Barak replied, “There is never a dull moment, that I can promise you.”
Dempsey also met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and the Israeli army’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/us-military-chief-in-israel-for-talks-on-iran/2012/01/20/gIQAzywCDQ_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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Iran Quake Injuries Reach 230
Iran’s state TV says the number of people injured by a Thursday earthquake of moderate strength affecting the northeastern city of Neyshabur has increased to around 230.
The Friday report says 30 of the injured people were hospitalized, with the others treated for minor injuries and released. No deaths have yet been reported.
State TV reports that many residents of the city camped out overnight in subzero weather in streets and parks, fearing further tremors.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204616504577172142389923420.html?mod=fox_australian
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Iran Claims UN Used In Scientist Killing
Iran claims information allegedly leaked from the UN nuclear monitoring agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, was used in the killing of one of its nuclear scientists last week.
Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan was killed in Tehran on January 11 after a magnetic bomb clinging to the door of his car exploded.
Iran’s Deputy UN ambassador, Eshagh Al Habib, said there was a “high suspicion” that information “obtained from United Nations bodies” had been used to plan the assassination.
“There is a high suspicions, that these terrorists circles used the intelligence obtained from United Nations bodies, including the sanctions list of the Security Council and interviews carried out by IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) with our nuclear scientists to identify and carry out their malicious acts,” Al Habib said at UN headquarters in New York.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_claims_un_used_in_scientist_killing_/24457384.html
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West Unlikely to Freeze Iranian Oil Export – Ambassador
The European countries that will negotiate on Monday on a planned embargo of Iranian oil exports are unlikely to impose it, Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Seyed Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi said on Friday.
Tensions between Iran and the West have escalated in the past few weeks after Tehran threatened to stop oil supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz if economic sanctions imposed by Western nations limit or prevent Iranian oil exports that make up some 80 percent of Iran’s foreign revenues.
EU foreign ministers are set to meet on Monday to discuss a possible oil embargo against Iran and freezing Iran’s central bank assets.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20120120/170863786.html
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Lack of trust overshadows Obama’s outreach to Tehran
Iran has responded coolly to a letter sent by President Barack Obama in the heat of the crisis over the Strait of Hormuz, revealing that the two countries continue to remain hostage to the high level of mistrust that they have accumulated over decades.
While the White House has so far not commented on the letter, the New York Times had earlier reported that the Obama administration had contacted Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the wake of Iran’s threat to block the Strait of Hormuz, a gateway through which nearly 20 per cent of the world oil supplies pass.
In response to President Obama’s outreach, Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran’s Foreign Minister, during a visit to Turkey said on Thursday that Tehran would not accept any U.S. preconditions to begin talks. “Mr. Obama sent a letter to Iranian officials, but America has to make clear that it has good intentions and should express that it’s ready for talks without conditions,” he observed.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2817618.ece
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The Next Massive Spike in Oil Prices
Seven months ago, I warned Fools to carefully watch relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia as both vie for power as the U.S. leaves Iraq. Three months ago, the situation heated up after the foiled Iranian government plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. This month, Iran and Saudi Arabia have been publicly sparring over the West’s plan to embargo Iranian oil. This continuing situation has me, my fellow writers, and Goldman Sachs convinced that a portion of your portfolio should be in oil stocks, as sky-high oil prices are not as far off as you may think.
Goldman Sachs’ top commodity picks
Last week, Goldman Sachs’ Head of Commodities Research, Jeff Curie, revealed to investors the company’s top commodity picks for the year. Goldman expects Brent crude to average $120 in 2012 but end the year high at $127 per barrel, a 14% increase over Brent Crude’s current price of $111 per barrel (WTI Crude Oil (CLG12.NYM) is just below $100 a barrel). While its expectation is only 13% higher, Goldman believes oil has “massive upside price risk relative to our target.” In other words, Goldman believes oil prices could spike.
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/01/20/the-next-massive-spike-in-oil-prices.aspx
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Human Rights Lawyer Seifzadeh Refused to Participate in Own Trial Due To Revolutionary Court’s Incompetence
Mohammad Seifzadeh, prominent lawyer and one of the founding members of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, did not participate in his court trial on 11 January 2012, his wife and lawyer Fatemeh Golzar told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
“Today (11 January), Mr. Seifzadeh’s trial was held in Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court for the third case raised against him, related to statements and letters that he signed in prison. He did not want to participate in the trial, and he asked me as his lawyer to take only his defense bill to the court,” Golzar told the Campaign.
“Mr. Seifzadeh believes the Revolutionary Court is unqualified to handle his case. He forwent participation in the trial because of the court’s lack of competence and lack of a jury at his trial-which is one of the deficiencies that make this not a fair trial-and for other, similar reasons,” Golzar, who is currently the only lawyer representing Seifzadeh, told the Campaign about her client’s reason for not participating in the trial.
In November 2010, Mohammad Seifzadeh was sentenced to nine years in prison and a 10-year ban on practicing law on charges of acting against national security by participating in the establishment of the Defenders of Human Rights Center. In the latter part of April 2011, security officials of Orumiyeh detained him and charged him with “illegal exit” out of the country. After two months of interrogations, they transferred him to Evin Prison. In July 2011 an appeals court reduced his original sentence to two years’ imprisonment.
Seifzadeh has been held in Evin Prison since May 2011 and charged with “collusion and acting against national security” for his writings. These include a letter to Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, former President of Iran; two articles critical of the way amnesty is applied in the law and of the definition of political crimes; and signing onto collective statements in prison. He was summoned to Evin Prison Court a few days after his first letter to Khatami was published in news websites.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jan/1212.html
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Exclusive: New U.S. Commando Team Operating Near Iran
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are at a high point, as the Islamic Republic threatens to close off a vital waterway and two U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups sit in the seas off the Iranian coast. But across the Persian Gulf, the U.S. has a previously unacknowledged weapon in reserve: a new special operations team.
Danger Room has confirmed with the U.S. Special Operations Command that a new elite commando team is operating in the region. The primary, day-to-day mission of the team, known as Joint Special Operations Task Force-Gulf Cooperation Council, is to mentor military units belonging to the U.S.’ oil-rich Arab allies, who collectively are known as the Gulf Cooperation Council. Those Arab states consider Iran to be their primary foreign threat.
The task force provides “highly trained personnel that excel in uncertain environments,” Maj. Rob Bockholt, a spokesman for special-operations forces in the Mideast, tells Danger Room, and “seeks to confront irregular threats.” The U.S. military has not previously acknowledged the existence of the team, known as JSOTF-GCC for short.
The unit began its existence in mid-2009 — around the time that the Iranian leadership rejected President Obama’s offer of a new diplomatic dialogue and underwent a serious internal challenge to its legitimacy from Green Movement protesters. But whatever the task force does about Iran — or might do in the future — is a sensitive subject with the military.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/01/jsotf-gcc/
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Iran says blocking Strait of Hormuz still on the table
Iran’s representative at the United Nations has announced that Iran is not bent on blocking the Strait of Hormiz, but serious threats against the Islamic Republic would mean that all options are on the table. Mohammad Khazai also rejected recent reports that Iran is extending arms assistance to Syria.
Khazai, the permanent Iranian envoy at the UN, said in an interview with Charlie Rose that
He added, however, that at the moment there are no concrete plans to block the strategic waterway, which carries one-fifth of the world’s oil trade.
He said that if foreign powers try to create problems in the Persian Gulf, Iran and the other countries in the region have the right to defend themselves.
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iran-says-blocking-strait-hormuz-still-table
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Iran hands prison terms to Baha’i university staff
Six members of the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) have received severe prison terms from the Islamic Republic judiciary.
The Human Rights Reporters Committee reports that the sentences given to the Baha’i online university administrators have been approved by the appellate court.
Kamran Mortezai is sentenced to five years in jail, and Riaz Sobhani, Ramin Zibai, Fardah Sedghi, Mahmoud Badavam and Noshin Khadem are each sentenced to four years in prison.
The six were arrested eight months ago and charged with “membership in illegal groups with the intention of committing crimes against national security.”
The report adds that Vahid Mahmoodi, who was arrested along with this group, was given a suspended sentence of five years in jail and released.
Last June, Iranian authorities raided the homes of the professors and administrators of the BIHE in Tehran, Esfahan, Shiraz and Mazandaran. Since then, 20 people have been arrested for their connection with the BIHE, and another 50 professors and students have been summoned for questioning.
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iran-hands-prison-terms-bahai-university-staff
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Rafsanjani calls for open elections
The moderate Iranian cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is calling for the inclusion and participation of all groups and all political stripes in the coming parliamentary elections.
Iranian media report that Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of Iran’s Expediency Council, told a meeting of professors and researchers from Qom Seminary: “An energetic election can only be held with the participation and approval of all groups and tastes in the Revolutionary family, whereas monologues and monopoly have never been adequate to run the country.”
He noted that even throughout the “imposed war” (the Iran-Iraq War), elections continued, and the participation of the people and groups was never curtailed. Hashemi Rafsanjani added: “The perpetual presence of people in the arena and the participation of parties and groups and different social strata have always been approved by Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s Revolution, and by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the current leader of the Islamic Republic, and no one can deny it.”
He criticized the current situation, saying: “They must clearly answer the questions and doubts presented by the people.”
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/rafsanjani-calls-open-elections
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Tensions Rise as Iran is Hurt by Western Sanctions
Tensions between Western countries and Iran over its nuclear program continue to rise as sanctions threaten the country’s economy. Analysts are expressing concern a military confrontation could occur in the Middle East.
Iranian war games in the Persian Gulf amid threats to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The United States and Europe tighten sanctions to choke off Iranian oil revenues. Iran begins enriching uranium at an underground plant, as one of its nuclear scientists is killed in a bomb attack.
All signs, analysts say, that a military confrontation could be looming.
International Institute of Strategic Studies expert Mark Fitzpatrick. “I think Iran is feeling under increasing pressure. It is feeling, probably for the first time, sanctions that do have a real bite,” he said.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Tensions-Rise-as-Iran-is-Hurt-by-Western-Sanctions-137704798.html
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Another Iranian Journalist Jailed
Reformist Iranian journalist and former student activist Saeed Razavi Faqih has been reportedly arrested upon returning to Tehran from Paris where he was residing.
Friends of Razavi Faqih have said that he has been missing for about a week when he traveled back to Iran.
http://www.rferl.org/content/another_iranian_journalist_jailed/24462037.html
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Iran says sanctions to fail, repeats Hormuz threat
Iranian politicians said on Tuesday they expected the European Union to backtrack on its oil embargo and repeated a threat to close the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane if the West succeeds in preventing Tehran from exporting crude.
A day after the EU slapped a ban on Iranian oil, Iran’s tone appeared defiant, even skeptical, with Tehran insisting that, with the EU faced with its own economic crisis, it needs Iran’s oil more than Iran needs its business.
The ban is expected to take full effect within six months.
“The West’s ineffective sanctions against the Islamic state are not a threat to us. They are opportunities and have already brought lots of benefits to the country,” Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi told the official IRNA news agency.
Speaking in London, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Britain Prince Mohammad Bin Nawaf said the region was witnessing “a very difficult and a very tense situation”.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/24/us-iran-idUSTRE80N0YB20120124?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
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Iranian Adviser Accuses Brazil of Ruining Relations
Iran’s efforts to cultivate political support in Latin America at a time of rising international tension over its nuclear program appear to have encountered a significant obstacle: Brazil, the region’s economic powerhouse.
After President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran took a four-country tour of Latin America this month, during which he met with several outspoken critics of the United States but was notably not invited to stop in Brazil, one of his top advisers took a public swipe at Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff, saying she had “destroyed years of good relations” between the two nations.
“The Brazilian president has been striking against everything that Lula accomplished,” Ali Akbar Javanfekr, who has worked as Mr. Ahmadinejad’s top media adviser, said in an interview published Monday by Folha de São Paulo, a leading Brazilian newspaper, in which he compared Ms. Rousseff to her predecessor and political mentor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/world/americas/ahmadinejad-adviser-accuses-brazil-of-ruining-relations.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
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Election Watch #2: Iran Starts Slashing Candidates
How do the numbers of registered candidates compare to previous elections?
The number of candidates who registered for the 2012 parliamentary elections is at its lowest since the 1996 elections. Only 5,395 individuals registered to run for parliament, a 33 percent drop from four years ago. Women comprise less than 10 percent of those who have registered to run. Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, the Minister of Interior has attributed this decline to amendments made to the electoral law, such as the prerequisite that a candidate hold at least a master’s degree. Other factors include the prevailing climate of political apathy, the marginalization of reformists, and prospects of harsher disqualifications.
In sharp contrast, the number of incumbents seeking re-election is at a record high for the 2012 poll. Of the parliament’s 290 sitting MPs, 260 are seeking re-election. With incumbency rates averaging 35 percent in the last 30 years, it will be interesting to see how many deputies will be re-elected and how many will lose ground to freshmen challengers.
http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2012/jan/24/election-watch-2-iran-starts-slashing-candidates
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Iran escalation ‘could see UK forces sent to Gulf’
An escalation of a dispute with Iran could see Britain sending military reinforcements to the Gulf, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has said, according to the BBC. Sending HMS Argyll as part of an international warship flotilla through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday was a “clear signal” to Tehran, he said.
Iran has threatened to close the strait in retaliation for sanctions against its oil exports. In total, 35% of the world’s tanker-borne oil passes through the strait.
Asked if more resources could be sent to the region, Hammond said: “The UK has a contingent capability to reinforce that presence should at any time it be considered necessary to do so.”
http://www.nineoclock.ro/iran-escalation-%e2%80%98could-see-uk-forces-sent-to-gulf%e2%80%99/
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Iranian Intelligence Minister warns against election turmoil
Iran’s Intelligence Minister has warned the public that the country’s “enemies” are trying to disrupt the coming elections. With parliamentary elections slated for March, the Fars News Agency quoted Heydar Moslehi saying: “The enemy’s psychological warfare against Islamic Iran takes shape through various dimensions and roots.”
The Intelligence Minister previously had reported the arrest of several “election disruptors.” Moslehi accused the detainees of having links to foreign forces bent on disrupting the elections.
He listed the “enemy’s” methods for derailing the elections: stoking political differences, questioning the transparency of the elections process, trying to bring political debate into the streets, spreading mistrust of the system, creating instability and intensifying economic sanctions.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jan/1256.html
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Strange Bedfellows in the Conflict with Iran
As the European Union prepared to consider tough new sanctions against Iran on Monday, a group of eminent Americans was cozying up here to an exiled Iranian opposition group that the United States classifies as terrorists.
Even undeclared war makes strange bedfellows, and none more so than the former politicians, generals and spooks on the panel at a conference in Paris on Friday evening and their hosts, the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran.
In its checkered history, the P.M.O.I. has been accused of murdering American servicemen, was involved in not one but two invasions of the U.S. embassy in Tehran during the Iranian revolution, and allied itself with the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein.
More recently it claims to have provided information exposing details of Tehran’s attempts to produce a nuclear weapon, while vigorously denying widespread speculation that it might have assisted in recent unexplained assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists.
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/strange-bedfellows-in-the-conflict-with-iran/
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Iran Summons Danish Envoy to Protest EU Ban
Iran has summoned the Danish ambassador in Tehran to protest what it calls the European Union’s “illogical” decision to ban Iranian oil imports.
Iranian state news agency IRNA says foreign ministry official Ali Asghar Khaji summoned the Danish envoy on Tuesday, a day after the 27-nation EU agreed to stop all Iranian oil imports by July 1. Denmark currently holds the rotating EU presidency.
IRNA says Khaji accused the EU of acting in a reckless manner and doing the bidding of the United States, which also tightened sanctions on Iran in recent weeks and welcomed the EU oil embargo.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Iran-Denounces-EU-Oil-Ban–137948963.html
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Iran hits back at EU with own oil embargo threat
Fighting sanctions with sanctions in a trial of strength with the West over its nuclear ambitions, Iran warned on Friday it may halt oil exports to Europe next week in a move calculated to hurt ailing European economies.
At the same time, the government in Tehran, grappling with its own economic crisis under Western trade and banking embargoes, will host a rare visit on Sunday by U.N. nuclear inspectors for talks that the ruling clergy may hope can relieve diplomatic pressure as they struggle to bolster public support.
Since the U.N. watchdog lent independent weight in November to the suspicions of Western powers that Iran is using a nuclear energy program to give itself the ability to build atomic bombs, U.S. and EU sanctions and Iranian threats of reprisal against Gulf shipping lanes have disrupted world oil markets and pushed up prices.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/27/us-iran-idUSTRE80Q1UY20120127?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
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Israel Senses Bluffing in Iran’s Threats of Retaliation
Israeli intelligence estimates, backed by academic studies, have cast doubt on the widespread assumption that a military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities would set off a catastrophic set of events like a regional conflagration, widespread acts of terrorism and sky-high oil prices.
The estimates, which have been largely adopted by the country’s most senior officials, conclude that the threat of Iranian retaliation is partly bluff. They are playing an important role in Israel’s calculation of whether ultimately to strike Iran, or to try to persuade the United States to do so, even as Tehran faces tough new economic sanctions from the West.
“A war is no picnic,” Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Israel Radio in November. But if Israel feels itself forced into action, the retaliation would be bearable, he said. “There will not be 100,000 dead or 10,000 dead or 1,000 dead. The state of Israel will not be destroyed.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/world/middleeast/israelis-see-irans-threats-of-retaliation-as-bluff.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
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Arab Gulf States Urged to Increase Pipelines After Iran’s Oil Threats
As Iranian threats to close the Strait of Hormuz intensify, some energy experts are calling on Arab Gulf states to find alternative ways to export their petroleum. Experts differ, however, on whether proposed pipelines are economically feasible or whether Iran will follow through with its threats.
Nearly 40 percent of seaborne traded oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean and is bordered by Iran and Oman. Iran is threatening to block the route. Any closure of the strategic waterway would likely send oil prices soaring and have a significant impact on the global economy.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Arab-Gulf-States-Urged-to-Increase-Pipelines-After-Iran-Oil-Threats-138200949.html
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Pattern of Intimidation Is Seen in Arrests of Iranian Journalists and Bloggers
The judicial authorities in Iran have arrested at least half a dozen journalists and bloggers over the past few weeks, according to their acquaintances, opposition Web sites and rights groups. The moves appear to be part of a pre-emptive campaign of intimidation to thwart protests surrounding the parliamentary elections that are scheduled to be held in early March.
The arrests of the journalists and bloggers, including two prominent women whose blog posts are widely read in Iran, have not been reported by the official news media. Rights groups and people who know the detained journalists said the government apparently wanted word of the arrests to spread informally, to heighten the atmosphere of fear and paranoia.
It also was unclear what specific charges, if any, had been lodged against those who were arrested. None seem to have been politically active or to have published anything that might be considered seditious since the last major Iranian government crackdown on free expression in February 2011. At that time, the authorities arrested a large number of journalists as part of what turned out to be a successful effort to subvert any ambition by Iran’s largely silenced political opposition to celebrate the revolutions that were then sweeping Tunisia and Egypt.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/world/middleeast/iran-steps-up-arrests-of-journalists-and-bloggers.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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Iran is gearing up for elections and it isn’t pretty
The arrest of at least 10 reporters since the turn of the year and new Internet restrictions point to a battening down of social control ahead of Iran’s March elections.
The international focus may be on Iran’s nuclear program and all the war talk that’s surrounded it. But less noticed is that Iran is gearing up for parliamentary elections in March. Every early sign is that it will be as closely controlled an affair as the 2009 presidential contest that kept Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power for a second term.
Iran’s supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may have called Mr. Ahmadinejad’s landslide victory a “divine assessment.” But forces other than God probably had a hand in Ahmadinejad’s victory; there was strong evidence of widespread fraud, which sparked protests on a scale not seen since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
While those protests have since been quashed, the grievances behind them remain. If anything, they have gathered in strength, with an economy suffering blows from US-led international sanctions and ongoing crackdowns against citizens. The smart money is on a parliamentary election whose results are massaged, much as the presidential elections were. But even fixed results will still show shifts in Iran’s complex political landscape.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Backchannels/2012/0127/Iran-is-gearing-up-for-elections-and-it-isn-t-pretty
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APNewsBreak: Weapons experts part of UN team trying to probe Iran for alleged nuke arms work
Diplomats say the U.N. nuclear agency is including two senior weapons experts on a mission to Iran on Saturday.
The move is an unusually clear statement on the team’s prime focus — wresting information from Iranian officials on suspicions the country has secretly worked on atomic arms.
Iran has flatly refused to discuss such allegations for more than three years.
But diplomats on Friday told The Associated Press that the weapons experts were part of the U.N. team and that Iran had accepted their inclusion after some initial resistance.
They asked for anonymity because their information is confidential.
http://www.brandonsun.com/world/breaking-news/apnewsbreak-weapons-experts-part-of-un-team-trying-to-probe-iran-for-alleged-nuke-arms-work-138220954.html?viewAllComments=y
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Concern For Iranian Opposition Leader Under House Arrest
The wife of detained Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi reports that she has been completely cut off from her husband, adding that the authorities are now holding him in solitary confinement.
Fatemeh Karroubi told Saham News: “After my husband announced his opinion on the elections, recommending a boycott of them, he is being denied further visits with me, and the authorities are now stopping me from entering my own home.”
She expressed grave concern about the treatment of her husband by his jailers.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jan/1279.html
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Ebadi calls for boycott of Iran elections, release of opposition leaders
Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian Nobel Peace Laureate, is throwing her support behind the 39 Iranian political prisoners calling for an election boycott and the release of Iran’s opposition leaders from house arrest.
In a statement, Ebadi commends the daring of the 39 prisoners and, in response to their call for support, writes: “I urge all freedom seekers all over the world to make all efforts to secure the release of all political prisoners in Iran, specifically Zahra Rahnavard, MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi.”
She has also called upon all Iranians to boycott the elections. “I call on dear compatriots to boycott the sham elections for the 12th Islamic Parliament in March in order to once more announce to all the world that the Islamic Republic regime lacks legitimacy.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jan/1272.html
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Don’t Turn the Strait of Hormuz into a Turkmanchai-Type Disaster
Those in Iran who are turning the Strait of Hormuz into an issue are perhaps not aware that if the waterway turns into a conflict, its final chapter will be very different from the way the eight year Iran-Iraq war ended by drinking a chalice of poison.
Iranian right-wingers who dream of supremacy and grab any megaphone to scream about the Strait are probably doing it because the waterway has most likely become an election issue. They may be trying to send this message to the world: “We control this country, and not our domestic rivals,” and, “If a deal needs to be made, you need to make it with us.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jan/1261.html
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Message of defiance at Friday prayers
Tehran’s Friday Mass Prayer leader Ahmad Khatami told worshippers today that the EU oil embargo will result in serious difficulties for participating countries.
Iranian media report that Khatami said: “A nation that wants no one to dictate its actions must pay the price for it.”
He added that, at most, 17 percent of Iran’s oil exports are purchased by European countries, adding that the decision to boycott Iranian oil will only compound Europe’s economic problems.
He said: “We have customers that are begging for our oil, but Europe is dropping itself into a well with the rotten rope of the United States, which is suicide.”
He maintained that 30 years of sanctions have led to “significant progress in the nuclear field” in Iran and he expressed hope that the new sanctions would only serve to wean the Iranian economy from its dependence on oil exports.
On Monday, EU member states announced they are boycotting Iranian oil. Effective immediately, EU countries will sign no new agreements to purchase Iranian petroleum products, and all existing agreements have to be ended by July 1.
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/message-defiance-friday-prayers
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Israel and Netanyahu, Pipe Down the Threats of War on Iran
Bibi, Israel, curb your over-the-top war rhetoric toward Iran. I urge this as one who cherishes Israel and values military power. But you’ve got to understand that your constant threats to attack Iran to stop its nuclear program aren’t working. Unending military threats unite Iranians and fire up their resistance. Economic sanctions weaken and divide them—and often produce constituencies for compromise. Give sanctions time to play out.
http://www.cfr.org/israel/israel-netanyahu-pipe-down-threats-war-iran/p27301?cid=rss-iran-israel_and_netanyahu%2C_pipe_dow-020612&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+region%2Firan+%28CFR.org+-+Regions+-+Iran%29
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U.S. Toughens Sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank
The U.S. handed down a fresh set of sanctions on the Iranian government Monday in the latest bid to pressure Tehran to end its nuclear program.
The White House announced Monday it was freezing all property owned in the U.S. by Iran or the Central Bank of Iran. President Barack Obama, in an executive order signed Sunday, said the Central Bank of Iran was concealing transactions of sanctioned parties and that Iran was not making progress in halting money laundering.
The U.S. Treasury Department, which is responsible for enforcing sanctions, said in a statement Monday that “Iran now faces an unprecedented level of pressure” and that the new sanctions confirms Iran “will face ever-increasing economic and diplomatic pressure until it addresses the international community’s well-founded and well-documented concerns regarding the nature of its nuclear program.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204369404577206973883832002.html?mod=fox_australian
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Iran oil exports: where do they go?
Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz through which 20% of global oil supplies pass through. Which countries does Iran export to and how much of their crude oil supply does it make up?
Iran has threatened to cut oil exports to the West and threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz through which one fifth of global oil supplies pass through – in bitter retaliation to the Iranian oil embargo agreed by the European Union.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/feb/06/iran-oil-exports-destination#_
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The return of Ayatollah Khomeini
Your national hero is dead – but you need him to appear at a every important event. What to do? Perhaps the Iranians have found the answer
You know what it’s like. You’re re-enacting an important event in your country’s history, but the national hero you’re commemorating is dead, and such is his stature that it would be disrespectful to replace him with an actor.
What to do? Well, if you’re the Iranian army, and you’re recreating the Ayatollah Khomeini’s return from exile in 1979, it’s pretty simple: solemnly replace him with a massive cardboard cut-out, and let two soldiers parade it around an airport runway. Job done.
But why stop there? The Iranians didn’t. As befits a moment as seminal as this, the paper Ayatollah was then treated to a guard of honour, before being seamlessly swapped for a second, smaller (but nevertheless relentlessly lifelike) incarnation of the great revolutionary leader, who in turn was spirited away by a jeep.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/shortcuts/2012/feb/05/return-of-ayatolla-khomeini
The Cardboard Ayatollah – in pictures
A look at the bizarre re-enactment of the Iranian spiritual leader’s return to Iran in 1979 accompanied by a few choice selections from the web’s inevitable Photoshopped-response
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2012/feb/05/in-pictures-cardboard-ayatollah#/?picture=385463921&index=
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Iran and Syria: A Tale of Two Crises
A year after the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt ushered in the Arab awakening, the United States still faces the difficult task of forging a new strategy for a new Middle East. While regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya eventually fell, the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad has clung to power with grim resolution. The regime has slaughtered its people and ignored pressure from domestic, regional and international actors. Meanwhile, Iran has viewed the Arab Spring as a mixture of opportunity and threat, all the while resisting fierce international demands to end its nuclear enrichment program. In recent weeks, the potential for escalation with one or both of these countries has captured the headlines while the relationship between them has largely been left to the back pages.
http://www.brookings.edu/events/2012/0202_iran_syria.aspx?rssid=iran&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BrookingsRSS%2Ftopics%2Firan+%28Brookings%3A+Topics+-+Iran%29
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Iranians feel sanctions bite
As the European Union introduces a ban on crude oil imports from Iran and tightens sanctions on the country’s banks, BBC Persian has been talking to Iranians at home and abroad about the impact on their lives, as Mehrzad Kohanrouz reports.
Fereydoun is a 40-year-old from Karaj, south-west of the capital Tehran. He has just been made redundant after 15 years with the state-owned carmaker, Iran Khodro.
“I used to have a job assembling Mercedes-Benz cars,” says Fereydoun, “but now, because of the sanctions, Daimler has cut its ties with Iran and as a consequence I lost my job. I’m self employed now but I’m struggling to put food on the table.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16813248
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Nasrallah Not So Popular in Syria, Which is a Great Thing
News today from Syria, which is all-but-embroiled in a civil war now, took a turn for the chesty when the secretary general of the Free Syria Army put Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on notice for backing the regime Assad. From Ynet:
The secretary general of the Free Syria Army’s military council warned that Syrian rebels will settle the score with Nasrallah and his group at court once the Syrian leader is deposed.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/02/nasrallah-not-so-popular-in-syria-which-is-a-great-thing/252365/
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Video: ‘Dictator! Say hello to the end!’
The following video promotes the opposition movement in Iran which will take to the streets once again on 14 February. It is titled “Dictator! Say hello to the end!”
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HRW Says Iran ‘Detaining’ Relatives Of Journalists
Human Rights Watch says Iranian authorities are intimidating and arresting relatives and friends of Persian-language journalists working abroad.
The U.S.-based group said security forces raided the home of a relative of a BBC Persian service employee in Tehran in January, and “arbitrarily detained and held him as a hostage for close to two weeks.”
HRW said the move “seems to be part of a wider campaign to harass Iranian journalists by putting pressure on their families.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/hrw_iran_detaining_relatives_of_journalists/24472627.html
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The Stunning Collapse of Iran’s Currency
In a recent two-part series on the tensions between the United States and Iran, my colleague David Lee Smith provided readers with a broad and insightful overview of the unfolding crisis. He discussed the European Union’s newly implemented embargo against Iranian oil, the contentious relationship between Shiite Iran and its Sunni neighbors, and the growing divide between the leadership of Iran and that of Turkey, among other things.
Despite this comprehensiveness, aspects of the crisis remain muddled in anonymity. And one of these aspects involves the recent and sudden collapse of Iran’s currency, the rial. While David paid homage to the issue in the first article of his series, I’ve decided to expand on it here by discussing why it collapsed, and the implications of its doing so.
When currencies collapse
The collapse of a currency is typically a well-publicized event that reverberates throughout the world’s equity markets. The domino-like capitulation of East Asian currencies in 1997, for example, sent equity markets hurtling downward, leading to one of the largest single-day drops in the Dow Jones Industrial Index in history. And the 1998 devaluation of the Russian ruble triggered the demise of hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management, immortalized by Roger Lowenstein in When Genius Failed.
Yet this didn’t happen when the Iranian rial collapsed at the beginning of this year. And the question is why? National Security Advisor Thomas Donilon shed a slender ray of light on this question in an interview with Charlie Rose last week. In it, Donilon tacitly implied that the collapse was anything but a mistake. And this would make sense, of course, as the United States is currently using economic measures to pressure the Iranian regime to abandon its nuclear program.
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/02/06/the-stunning-collapse-of-irans-currency.aspx
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Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel Prime Minister, Tells Cabinet To Stop ‘Chitchat’ About Iran
An Israeli official says the country’s prime minister has told his Cabinet to quit the “chitchat” about Iran.
Israeli political and military leaders have been increasingly candid recently on the subject of Israeli action against the Iranian nuclear program.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/06/benjamin-netanyahu-iran_n_1257860.html
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Why does Russia oppose Assad’s fall?
The opposition shown by Moscow these days to a UN Security Council resolution condemning the tough repression operated by the Assad regime in Syria is already highly notorious. Although the resolution is co-sponsored by the EU and the Arab League and its phasing carefully sought to disable all Russian suspicion that it would legitimise a foreign military intervention in that country, Moscow (and China) however chose to veto it on Saturday, February 3. The document proposed the implementation of a so-called Arab plan, according to which Syrian President Bashar Assad would have peacefully surrendered the power to the vice-president who was supposed to organise the dialogue with the opposition as well as the election. Therefore, an inevitable change of regime.
Why is Russia so stubborn about keeping a position that ‘pushes Syria’ to civil war? Why does Moscow continue to say it will keep supplying armament to the Assad regime?
Anyone who addressed the matter tried to identify the reasons behind this particular position Moscow has adopted. Among those the ones that stand out are the fear that the adoption of a resolution by the UN Security Council – even if passed with a single abstention vote from Russia – may facilitate a Western intervention, possibly by NATO, as it happened in Libya in March 2011; the fact that Syria is one of the most important customers of Russian armaments, therefore the risk of losing a profitable market for the Russian weapon industry; the possibility that a post-Assad regime may cancel the agreement on the Russian military base in the Syrian Tartus Port, the only and also very important one it has in the Mediterranean; Russia’s attempt to position itself as an actor in the Middle East in the so agitated context of the transforming developments of the ‘Arab spring’; the loyalty to an allied political regime whose abandoning would be a negative signal for other friendly regimes mainly in Central Asia; the assumed’ and bluntly anti-West trend pursued by the Kremlin regime around the presidential election in Russia in March this year, trying to influence nostalgic conservative voters; possible confidential agreements with local actors in the intricate power game in the Middle East, etc.
http://www.nineoclock.ro/why-does-russia-oppose-assad%e2%80%99s-fall/
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2097087/Irans-female-ninja-assassins-3-000-women-training-defend-Muslim-state.html?ITO=1490
With hundreds of women brandishing deadly weapons while performing back flips and gravity-defying stunts, these incredible images look like a scene out of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
But this is not the latest martial art film but in fact footage of female pupils practicing their moves at a tiny Ninjutsu club in Iran where the specialist form of martial art has become increasingly popular.
The school opened in 1989 but now has 3,500 women in training to become kunoichi – female ninjas.
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Israeli Ad Jokes About Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Program
An Israeli cable television company has removed an ad from its YouTube channel making light of a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities by Israel.
The ad, for the cable provider Hot, imagines characters from an Israeli sit-com bungling a covert operation and destroying the Iranian nuclear facility near the city of Isfahan by pressing the wrong button on a Mossad agent’s Samsung Galaxy tablet computer. After the facility goes up in smoke, the culpable Israeli character dismisses it with a shrug as just “another mysterious explosion in Iran,” a clear reference to a string of deadly attacks on Iranian scientists and installations that have been attributed to Israel.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/06/israeli-ad-jokes-about-strikes-on-irans-nuclear-program/?partner=rss&emc=rss
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Iranian activists call for release of their peer
A group of 52 Iranian student activists has issued a statement calling for the release of Saeed Razavi Faqih. The former student activist was arrested in December upon his return to Iran. He is reportedly being held in an undetermined state and is probably being subjected to high-pressure interrogations.
The signatories write that Razavi Faqih was committed to reforming the framework of the Islamic Republic regime and its laws.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/feb/1065.html
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Israeli Cabinet Mulls Response to Iran Threat
Growing tensions between Israel and Iran topped the agenda at the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened the Cabinet meeting by referring to a statement last week by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who described Israel as “a cancerous tumor that must be cut off.”
Netanyahu said the only way to ensure Israel’s survival in a region where Iran’s ruler talks “about destroying Israel,” is to continue to develop the nation’s military might.
A strong army “is the only guarantee of peace,” he said, “and Israel’s only defense if peace unravels.”
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but Israel and the West believe Tehran is building nuclear weapons that could threaten the existence of the Jewish state. Israeli officials are warning publicly that Iran is close to “the point of no return”- the point where military action to stop Iran from acquiring the atom bomb would be too late.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/feb/1059.html
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Widespread arrests in southwestern Iran
Iranian security forces have arrested 50 people over the past two weeks in the Arab neighbourhoods of the southwestern province of Khuseztan. Two of the detainees were killed while in custody, writer and human rights activist Yousef Azizi Banitaraf told Zamaneh.
“The security forces are telling elders of the tribes in the region to bring people to the voting booths,” Banitaraf reports; “and the young people are opposed to this.”
The arrests, which have taken place in Shoosh, Ahvaz and Hamidieh, were apparently triggered by a number of youth writing slogans on public walls calling for a boycott of the coming parliamentary elections. The reports indicate that Nasser Alboshokeh Derafshan and Mohammad Kaabi were killed while in custody.
Last March another detainee, Reza Moghamessi also reportedly died in Dezfool Prison under torture.
Yousef Azizi Banitaraf added that the families of the victims have been told to refrain from holding any commemoration services for their kin.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/feb/1058.html
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Iran: More Arrests Ahead of Elections
While the condition of recently detained journalists remains unknown, more journalists are arrested ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections. In the latest instance, Reza Jelodarzadeh, editor-in-chief of the recently banned “Sobh-e Azadi” magazine was arrested.
It is not evident which organ has arrested Mr. Jelodarzadeh, who is a wounded veteran of the Iran-Iraq war. Speaking to Rooz, the relatives of this detained journalists said they know nothing about his physical condition or whereabouts.
Three other journalists were arrested immediately before Mr. Jelodarzadeh: Saham Bourghani, Marzieh Rasouli, and Parastou Dokouhaki. Nothing is known about the condition of the former two journalists, but Parastou Dokouhaki told her family members in a short telephone call that she was being held in solitary confinement.
Parastou Dokouhaki is a journalist, blogger, and social activists who was arrested on January 16 at her house and has been in solitary confinement at the Evin Prison since.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/feb/1053.html
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Lawmakers, ‘Experts’ Spin Tales of Iranian Terror in Latin America
Through its ties with Venezuela and other nations in Latin America, Iran is building an anti-US alliance in the Western Hemisphere that poses a direct, imminent threat to the United States, an influential US lawmaker said Thursday.
The remark from House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, author of sanctions legislation targeting Iran that was recently passed by a near-unanimous vote, comes amid an increasingly visible campaign by right-wing politicians and allied institutions to build the case for further sanctions and other acts of economic warfare against the Islamic Republic – and, perhaps, set the stage for military action.
The administration of President Barack Obama has implemented stringent sanctions against Iran that have helped cripple its economy and, as the president himself noted in his State of the Union address last month, refused to take the prospect of all-out war off the table.
http://original.antiwar.com/charles-davis-ips/2012/02/03/lawmakers-experts-spin-tales-of-iranian-terror-in-latin-america/
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Iran’s Baha’i community targeted with more arrests
Iranian security forces have arrested several members of the Baha’i community in Shiraz.
The Human Rights Reporters Committee announced on Friday that several Baha’is were arrested at their homes today in Shiraz. Details of the arrests have not yet been released, except that the arrests were carried out during sudden and simultaneous raids on the homes of the targeted people.
The crackdown on Iran’s Baha’i community has intensified in recent months. In addition to arresting Baha’i citizens, the authorities have also detained staff and faculty of the BIHE, the Baha’i online university. The BIHE has been denounced as an “illegal” organization lacking any credibility in academic terms.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/feb/1033.html
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Senior cleric calls for release of opposition leaders
Ayatollah Ali Mohammad Dastgheib, a senior Iranian cleric and a chief critic of the Islamic Republic’s recent domestic policies, has called on the establishment to end the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi and MirHosein Mousavi, the two opposition leaders who have been detained since last February.
Ayatollah Dastgheib’s website, Hadis-e Sarv, published his statement calling for the release of the opposition leaders and other political prisoners.
Ayatollah Dastgheib has repeatedly criticized the government crackdown on the opposition over the past two years. His criticisms have led to attacks on his office and the Qoba Mosque, where he regularly leads prayers.
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/senior-cleric-calls-release-opposition-leaders
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US: Iran Keeping Open Option to Develop Nuclear Weapons
Top U.S. intelligence officials say Iran is keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons, but has not yet made the decision to build a bomb. Analysts say if Tehran makes such a decision, it will be capable of producing a nuclear weapon later this year.
Concern continues to mount over Iran’s nuclear program, as tensions between Western nations and Tehran are escalating.
Tehran says its nuclear plants are used for peaceful energy production. But the International Atomic Energy Agency cites evidence Iran is researching the development and delivery of nuclear weapons.
“They are certainly moving on that path, but we do not believe they have actually made the decision to go ahead with a nuclear weapon,” said U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
In recent months, Iran has begun enriching uranium at an underground plant. Maseh Zarif of the American Enterprise Institute conducted an analysis of the country’s enrichment program that shows it would not take long to build a bomb.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/US-Iran-Keeping-Open-Option-to-Develop-Nuclear-Weapons-138597169.html
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Syria: live from the frontline in Homs
• Martin Chulov describes intense fighting near Homs
• UN offers to join the Arab League monitoring mission
• More killed on the sixth day of the assault on Homs
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2012/feb/09/syria-un-helps-homs-assault-live
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Iran begins blocking access to Gmail, other sites
When Thomas Erdbrink, The Washington Post’s correspondent in Tehran, logs on to the Internet in Iran, he never knows whether Gmail and Google Reader, The Post or Facebook will open for him. Increasingly, this is the error message he sees instead of the page he was trying to reach:
Iranian bloggers have long used a workaround, by connecting to the Internet and then switching to a special connection that bypasses the country’s extremely effective firewall. But Erdbrink reports Thursday that the software recently has stopped working.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/iran-begins-blocking-access-to-gmail-other-sites/2012/02/09/gIQAlZ0i1Q_blog.html?wprss=rss_world
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U.S. and Israel Split on Speed of Iran Threat
Amid mounting tensions over whether Israel will carry out a military strike against Iran’s nuclear program, the United States and Israel remain at odds over a fundamental question: whether Iran’s crucial nuclear facilities are about to become impregnable.
Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, coined the phrase “zone of immunity” to define the circumstances under which Israel would judge it could no longer hold off from an attack because Iran’s effort to produce a bomb would be invulnerable to any strike. But judging when that moment will arrive has set off an intense debate with the Obama administration, whose officials counter that there are other ways to make Iran vulnerable.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/09/world/middleeast/us-and-israel-split-over-how-to-deter-iran.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
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Iran turns to barter for food as sanctions cripple imports
Iran is turning to barter – offering gold bullion in overseas vaults or tankerloads of oil – in return for food as new financial sanctions have hurt its ability to import basic staples for its 74 million people, commodities traders said Thursday.
Difficulty paying for urgent import needs has contributed to sharp rises in the prices of basic foodstuffs, causing hardship for Iranians with just weeks to go before an election seen as a referendum on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s economic policies.
New sanctions imposed by the United States and European Union to punish Iran for its nuclear program do not bar firms from selling Iran food but they make it difficult to carry out the international financial transactions needed to pay for it.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/09/us-iran-wheat-idUSTRE8180SF20120209?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
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Eyeing the Arab spring
Gloom and bloom
What Israelis are making of the yearlong racket on their border
THE Jewish state was founded as paradise for the persecuted. Overshadowed by the terrible legacy of anti-Semitism and bruised by its frequent wars, the country now faces, Israel’s politicians proclaim, the danger of annihilation by Iranian nuclear bombs. Yet for long years Israel has enjoyed one relative comfort. Most of the time its angry neighbours have been conveniently weak and divided.
Could that change? Some Israelis fear the Arab spring is set to produce an Islamist winter. Religiously inspired parties, mostly linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, have emerged as the strongest political force in half a dozen Arab states. The Brotherhood itself now dominates Egypt, the largest Arab nation. Its rise there in effect ends the isolation of the Brothers’ offshoot in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian group Hamas, which has warred with Israel for decades. Jordan’s wobbly king, reliably accommodating to Israel, faces a rejuvenated Islamist opposition. When the smoke clears in Syria, Islamist forces could emerge triumphant there too, seemingly completing Israel’s encirclement by like-minded, hostile governments.
http://www.economist.com/node/21547291?fsrc=rss%7Cmea
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Assad pledges reform as siege of Homs continues – Wednesday 8 February
• Bombardment of Homs continues for a fifth day
• US says it won’t arm Free Syrian Army
• Russia calls for an Arab solution to the crisis
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2012/feb/08/syria-assad-siege-homs-live
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Ex-Marine sentenced to death in Iran needs U.S. intervention, lawyer pleads
A former U.S. Marine sentenced to death in Iran for allegedly spying for the CIA could be saved if the Obama administration would consider a prisoner swap, his Iranian attorney said Wednesday.
Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, 28, who was sentenced in January to be hanged, could face execution immediately after an appeals court has reviewed his sentence, said lawyer Mohammad Hossein Aghassi. The court’s decision was expected Jan. 25; the reason for the delay is unclear, he said.
Aghassi stressed that it was essential for the Obama administration to do anything within its means to reach out to Iran — including offering a possible prisoner exchange — to save Hekmati, a U.S. citizen of Iranian descent.
Iran has repeatedly asked for the release of Shahrzad Mir Golikhani, an Iranian American sentenced for involvement in an attempt to export night-vision equipment to Iran, who is imprisoned in Florida. In total,Iran has a list of 11 people in U.S. captivity it says are illegally detained.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/ex-marine-sentenced-to-death-in-iran-needs-us-intervention-lawyer-pleads/2012/02/08/gIQAH58EzQ_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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5 Reasons Why Israel Might Bomb Iran, Or Not
Will Israel bomb Iran or not?
Israel says it hasn’t decided. But top Israeli figures, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, suggest that the country will have to make a choice soon.
Israel believes Iran will soon have the capacity to make a nuclear weapon. Not everyone shares this assessment, and Iran insists its program is only for civilian purposes.
“The first thing you have to realize is we’re past the time in Iran where there’s the happy answer that doesn’t have consequences,” says James Carafano, director of foreign policy studies at the Heritage Foundation. “There are choices between bad answers and really horrible, terrible answers.”
As this confrontation unfolds, here are five reasons why Israel might — or might not — strike against Iran.
http://www.npr.org/2012/02/08/146545243/5-reasons-why-israel-might-bomb-iran-or-not?ft=1%26f=1009
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Israel Training Iranian Terrorists for Assassination Plots: Report
Mossad, Israel’s elite secret service agency, has been training assassins to kill Iranian nuclear scientists, a new report from NBC News claimed.
United States officials told NBC that Israel has been funding, arming and training members of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), a dissident group in Iran that is officially listed as a terrorist organization in the U.S.
If true, the report confirms allegations made by Iranian leaders, who have blamed Israel for the recent deaths of a number of nuclear scientists.
In January, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a chemistry professor and a director at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility near Isfahan in central Iran, was assassinated in Tehran by two unidentified men on a motorcycle, who planted a bomb on his car.
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/296037/20120209/iran-israel-war-mossad-united-states.htm
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Iran’s steel imports collapse under sanctions – traders
Steel exports to Iran, one of the world’s top importers of billet used in construction, are grinding to a halt as crippling U.S.-led sanctions have left local buyers without access to major currencies, traders said.
“Iran is the only market in the world that can move billet prices and now trading has basically come to a halt,” a steel trader based in Britain said.
New U.S. and EU financial sanctions imposed since the beginning of this year to punish Tehran over its nuclear programme are playing havoc with Iran’s ability to buy imports and receive payment for its oil exports, commodities traders said this week.
http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/irans-steel-imports-collapse-under-183208234.html
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Hamas drifting away from Iran
Hamas appears to be drifting away from its longtime patron Iran — part of a shift that began with last year’s Arab Spring and accelerated over Tehran’s backing of the pariah regime in Syria.
The movement’s top leader in exile, Khaled Mashaal, wants Hamas to be part of the broader Islamist political rise triggered by the popular uprisings sweeping across the Arab world. For this, Hamas needs new friends like the wealthy Gulf states that are at odds with Iran.
For now, Hamas won’t cut ties with Iran or close its headquarters-in-exile in the Syrian capital of Damascus, officials in the movement said.
However, relations have become increasingly strained.
Hamas has reduced its presence in Iran-allied Damascus in response to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s brutal crackdown on a popular uprising against him. Hamas also rejected Iran’s demand that the group publicly side with Assad, standing firm even when Tehran delayed the monthly support payments Hamas needs to govern the Gaza Strip, according to a senior Hamas official who insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss internal deliberations.
At the same time, Hamas is increasingly relying on political and financial support from the Gulf, particularly tiny Qatar, which also has close ties to the West.
http://www.waaytv.com/news/world/story/Hamas-drifting-away-from-Iran/CY0oUxPwtUiuFtFdLYJAgQ.cspx
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Iran opposition leader’s daughter banned from job
An Iranian opposition website reported Thursday that authorities have banned one of the daughters of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi from her teaching job.
The report by Kaleme.com said Mousavi’s daughter was omitted from the list of instructors of Al-Zahra University. She was teaching art at the all-women university.
It said security agents also warned all three of Mousavi’s daughters they might be detained.
Kaleme said the ban and the warning came after the children of Mousavi and his fellow opposition leader Mahdi Karroubi urged people to oppose detention of political prisoners. Mousavi and Karroubi have been under a house arrest since last February. The call was made earlier this week in a letter.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2012/02/09/iran_opposition_leaders_daughter_banned_from_job/
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Supreme Leader Directly Responsible for Illegal Detentions of Opposition Leaders
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, should immediately release the three opposition leaders who have spent the last year under illegal house arrest and stop using extrajudicial and inhumane methods to silence political opponents, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.
Today, nearly one year since the house arrest began, the Campaign released a multimedia project containing a detailed timeline, “News of a Kidnapping,” accompanied by a short video and a letter-writing campaign calling for the release of former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, former speaker of Parliament Mehdi Karroubi, and prominent political advisor and university chancellor Zahra Rahnavard.
“Khamenei bears the ultimate responsibility for these house arrests, which indeed are nothing short of a kidnapping,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the Campaign’s spokesperson. “Khamenei is operating above the law of the land, and the intelligence and judicial apparatus are tools of repression in his hands, operating with impunity and without any regard for the law or the constitution,” he added.
These house arrests are illegal under both Iranian and international law. Iranian law does not contain any provisions authorizing house arrests. Any detentions must be followed by proper charges and prosecution in a court of law. Authorities have not applied any of these steps in the cases of Rahnavard, Mousavi, and Karroubi.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/feb/1095.html
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Their Elections and Our Elections
The elections of the regime have started and are in progress. In fact it has been months since the show campaigns and activities for the fake elections have begin. The rulers of Iran began their games with a democratic institution – elections – even before the leader of the Islamic regime said that the forthcoming elections should not turn into a security issue. These included registering the candidates and then engaging in a fake game of approving or disapproving them; threats against political opponents and critics of the existing conditions in the country; illegalizing political reformist groups; summoning and threatening Green Movement activists and reformists, etc. Power mongers inside the regime have used every unlawful tool to mask the regime. Mir-Hossein Mousavi explained this well in 2010 when he said that it took him two months to realize that the infamous televised election debates that were held in 2009 were not for the purpose of driving him or Mr. Karoubi out of the elections process but to completely and permanently remove all opponents of the regime and to monopolize the political system. “I was only one of their targets and obstacles. The ruling gang had been planning to monopolize power for twenty years and it appeared that these elections were the final act. Power mongers acted to remove all critics and opponents from the national picture, something similar to North Korea but with a democratic mask,” he said.
In one of their most recent acts, Iran’s ruling circles shut down Roozgar newspaper because of its publication of an important interview with Mohammad-Reza Khatami. It is surprising that such important comments by a leading member of the reformist Participation Front were published in a domestic newspaper at this time. The closure of the newspaper was a foregone conclusion after the publication. Who has any doubts that such words and cries of protest are displeasing to the power mongers? Particularly as this happened just a few weeks after the reiterated warnings by the supreme leader. His call for a “healthy” election without disruption of the peace and security of the regime means nothing other than calling for a grave silence so that the engineered elections can proceed.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/feb/1101.html
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Sanctions on Iran: Iranians face shortages of rice, corn, and cooking oil
US and European sanctions are preventing Iran from buying enough rice, cooking oil, and other staples, say commodities traders. Prices for food are rising in Iran.
More evidence is emerging of the crippling impact of new sanctions on Iran, with international traders saying Tehran is having trouble buying rice, cooking oil and other staples to feed its 74 million people weeks before an election.
New US financial sanctions imposed since the beginning of this year to punish Tehran over its nuclear program are playing havoc with Iran’s ability to buy imports and receive payment for its oil exports, commodities traders said.
Iran denies that sanctions are causing serious harm to its economy, but Reuters investigations in recent days with commodities traders around the globe show serious disruptions to its imports. That is having a real impact on the streets of Iran, where prices for basic foodstuffs are soaring.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0208/Sanctions-on-Iran-Iranians-face-shortages-of-rice-corn-and-cooking-oil
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The Economic Crisis in Iran
During the 10 years that the U.S. Army positioned itself next door to Iran, in neighboring Iraq, and Afghanistan, the people of Iran never seriously feared an attack. Despite President Bush’s at times heated war rhetoric, the Iranians shrugged off fears of missile strikes or bunker-busting bombs. These days however, with the U.S. military evacuating Iraq amid plans for a withdrawal from Afghanistan, there is palpable fear of a possible attack. In the past three weeks or so, Iran has been been griped by a panic, which saw the Iranian currency, the rial, fall more than 50 percent against the dollar on the black market.
The governor of Iran’s central bank, Mahmoud Bahmani, announced eight percent devaluation of the rial, from 11,300 to 12,260 to the dollar. Until 2010, the rial had been kept at a relatively stable 9,000 to the U.S. dollar for years. On the black market, where those without connection have to obtain Greenbacks, the rate had shot up to USD 23,000 last week. The collapse of the rial, and the additional economic sanctions placed on Iran by the international community has created such a frenzy among Iranians that out of fear of a famine, they have jammed supermarkets in order to stock pile the bare necessities.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/masoumeh-alinejad/post_2962_b_1260555.html
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Iran says U.S. attack would be “akin to suicide”
Iran’s Ambassador in Moscow announced Wednesday that if the U.S. waged a military attack on Iran, the Islamic Republic has the capacity to strike back at U.S. interests all over the world.
The Russian news agency Ria Novosti reported on Wednesday that Mahmoudreza Sajjadi said: “In a situation where the United States is caught up in the Afghanistan quagmire, its hands are stained with the blood of Libyan people and in dealing with a national economic crisis, an attack on Iran is akin to suicide.”
The United States has been busy trying to establish widespread sanctions against Iran in order to halt Iran’s nuclear program.
Western countries claim Iran may have military ambitions in its nuclear activities. Iran denied the allegations and insists that its nuclear program is peaceful.
The United States has repeatedly said that if sanctions fail, the option of a military attack on Iran is still on the table.
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iran-says-us-attack-would-be-%E2%80%9Cakin-suicide%E2%80%9D
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Israel Debates Possible Fallout From Attack on Iran
In recent months, Israeli leaders have stepped up their rhetoric about Iran’s nuclear capabilities and increasingly are warning that Israel might attack Iranian nuclear installations to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. Lately they are warning that such an attack could come this year. This is sparking widespread debate in Israel, where memories are still vivid of missile attacks on the country two decades ago during the Iraq war.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Israelis-Debate-Possible-Fallout-From-Any-Attack-on-Iran-139009379.html
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Iran to Reveal Nuclear Progress
Iran will soon unveil “big new” nuclear achievements, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday while reiterating Tehran’s readiness to revive talks with the West over the country’s controversial nuclear program.
Mr. Ahmadinejad spoke at a rally in Tehran as tens of thousands of Iranians marked the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution that toppled the pro-Western monarchy and brought Islamic clerics to power.
He did not elaborate on the upcoming announcement but insisted Iran would never give up its uranium enrichment, a process that makes material for reactors as well as weapons.
The West suspects Iran’s nuclear program is aimed at producing atomic weapons, a charge Tehran denies, insisting it’s geared for peaceful purposes only, such as energy production.
Four rounds of U.N. sanctions and recent tough financial penalties by the U.S. and the European Union have failed to get Iran to halt aspects of its atomic work that could provide a possible pathway to weapons production.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203646004577216803841921064.html?mod=fox_australian
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Severe Internet Disruptions Reported In Iran
Severe Internet disruptions and increased censorship have been reported in Iran this week by Iranians who have complained on social media websites and via messages and telephone calls to RFE/RL’s Persian Service, Radio Farda.
They say their access to Google services has been blocked and that they haven’t been able to access other sites like Facebook even with the usual antifiltering software.
The reason for the disruption is not clear. It could be an attempt by government authorities to prevent a planned silent protest that has been called by the opposition Green Movement for February 14.
http://www.rferl.org/content/severe_internet_disruptions_reported_in_iran/24480371.html
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Gaza Hamas Leader Arrives In Iran
The prime minister of the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, has arrived in Tehran at the start of a three-day visit.
Iranian state television said Haniyeh was set to meet with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmud Ahmadinejad for talks on the latest developments in the Middle East.
He is also scheduled to give a speech at ceremonies marking the 33rd anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution on February 11.
http://www.rferl.org/content/gaza_leader_in_iran/24480276.html
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India, Praising U.S. Ties, Defends Buying Iran’s Oil
Ranjan Mathai, the Indian foreign secretary, made the rounds in Washington last week, describing India’s relationship with the United States as one of growing comfort, depth and candor, if not perfect harmony. On that last point he could have been talking about the recent frictions between the two countries over Iran.
India’s determination to continue buying Iranian oil, despite sanctions and growing political pressure from the United States and Europe, has frustrated officials in Washington at a time when the forward momentum in the United States-India relationship has slowed, with differences over issues including civil nuclear cooperation, trade protectionism and military sales.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/world/asia/india-trumpets-ties-with-us-amid-iran-oil-deal.html?src=mv&ref=world
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Iran says its ready for any military strike
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says the Islamic Republic takes every threat seriously and is prepared for worst-case scenarios.
IRNA reports that the Foreign Minister appeared on state television to address recent western threats against Iran, maintaining that the Islamic Republic was prepared for any military incursion.
In recent weeks there have been reports that Israel is preparing for a military attack on Iran, and the U.S. has repeatedly maintained that resolving Iran’s nuclear question through military action is still on the table.
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iran-says-its-ready-any-military-strike
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Speaker defends himself in advance of elections
In another display of infighting in the Islamic Republic’s political arena, Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani has rejected recent statements accusing him of having vested interests in Qom that would disqualify him from running for a seat in the next Parliament.
The Mehr News Agency reports that the Qom representative attended a Q&A session with Qom clergy and seminarians on Thursday. He was questioned on recently distributed flyers alleging that Larijani owns large estates in Qom and is involved in a series of questionable development and business projects.
Larijani stressed that he owns no property in Qom save his father’s residence. He assured his audience that he is running in the coming elections at the recommendation of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
A few days ago, ILNA quoted Iranian politician Hossein Kanani Moghaddam about the information being disseminated about Larijani in Qom, indicating that it might affect Larijani’s eligibility to run in the March Parliamentary elections.
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/speaker-defends-himself-advance-elections
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Christian converts arrested in Shiraz
At least 10 Christian converts were arrested on Wednesday in Shiraz at a residential home that was used as a church.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency reports that plainclothes forces raided the home where, according to HRANA, Christians gathered to observe religious practices and ceremonies.
The families of the detainees have not been able to ascertain their location and, so far, have not been informed of the charges against them.
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/christian-converts-arrested-shiraz
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Analysts: Iran’s Nuclear Program Could Provoke War
The Obama administration is talking with Israeli officials and monitoring developments about a possible Israeli attack on Iran over its controversial nuclear program. Reports say U.S. officials are hoping Israel will give Western sanctions against Iran more time to take effect before resorting to an attack.
Will Israel use its military aircraft to attack Iran? The Jewish state considers Iran’s nuclear program a threat. So does the United States.
“Let there be no doubt – America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. And I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal,” said President Obama.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Analysts-Irans-Nuclear-Program-Could-Provoke-War-139054239.html
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2099793/Iran-pledges-unveil-big-new-nuclear-achievements.html?ITO=1490
Have they now got nukes? New Iran fear as it warns West: We’ve made a major breakthrough
By Christopher Leake and Damien Gayle
Last updated at 12:08 AM on 12th February 2012
Iran’s leader issued a new threat to the West yesterday – warning that his country would soon unveil ‘big new nuclear achievements’.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not elaborate on the announcement – but insisted Iran would never give up its uranium enrichment process.
Western powers, including Britain and the United States, suspect the country’s nuclear programme is aimed at producing atomic weapons.
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India: ‘Well-Trained Terrorist’ Behind Israeli Diplomatic Attack
India’s home minister says Monday’s bombing of an Israeli embassy car was targeted at an Israeli diplomat’s wife and carried out by a well-trained terrorist.
Palaniappan Chidambaram said Tuesday the bomb went off within seconds of being planted on the woman’s car by an assailant on a motorcycle. Doctors described her condition as “critical but stable” and that she is recovering from shrapnel wounds and a spinal injury.
The attack occurred in one of New Delhi’s most secure districts, only a few blocks from the prime minister’s residence.
New Delhi police are in the process of studying forensic evidence and closed circuit television footage from the vicinity of the explosion. Israeli authorities are cooperating in the investigation.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Israeli-Wounded-in-India-Attack-critical-but-stable-139310383.html
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Bangkok blasts prompt more accusations against Iran a day after Israelis targeted
Israel renewed its accusations against Iran on Tuesday after a man identified as an Iranian national was involved in a string of explosions in Bangkok. The blasts came a day after bombers targeted Israeli diplomats in two incidents in India and Georgia, stoking concerns in Israel about a possible wave of attacks on its representatives abroad.
The violence comes amid rising tension between Israel and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program and threats by Iran to avenge the deaths of several of its nuclear scientists in attacks it has blamed on Israel.
Though authorities in Thailand said it was unclear whether the Bangkok explosions were linked to Monday’s incidents in New Delhi and the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the three incidents were part of a pattern of attacks orchestrated by Iran and the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, which is backed by Tehran.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/bangkok-blasts-prompt-more-accusations-against-iran-a-day-after-bombing-attempts-target-israelis/2012/02/14/gIQAHqCLDR_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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Iran Can Disrupt Key Waterway, But For How Long?
The dispute over Iran’s nuclear program has again rocked oil markets. And Iran is threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, which is just 34 miles wide yet serves as the passageway for 20 percent of the world’s oil.
This is not a new drama. In fact, it was a recurring issue in the 1980s. Still, there’s been relatively little activity among Gulf oil producers to find alternative routes to get their oil to market.
The United Arab Emirates is one of the few that has made a serious effort. It has completed construction of a new 230-mile pipeline that bypasses the strait, traveling from Abu Dhabi on the Persian Gulf in the west to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman in the east.
But local energy reporters say there’s less there than meets the eye. Technical problems have delayed use of the line by several months. And even when fully operational, the pipeline won’t even cover Abu Dhabi’s daily production, let alone anyone else’s.
http://www.npr.org/2012/02/14/146866084/iran-can-disrupt-key-waterway-but-for-how-long?ft=1%26f=1009
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Iranian Activists, Journalists Receive Threatening E-mails
A number of Iranian activists and journalists based inside and outside the country have told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda they have been threatened in anonymous e-mails.
The e-mails, which have been sent since February 13, warned activists of their “illegal activities” and said they will be dealt with according to Iranian Islamic laws. The e-mails claim that a list has been created including names and e-mail addresses of individuals accused of working for the goals of “foreigners“ and “seditionists,” which are terms used by Iranian officials to refer to the members of the opposition Green Movement.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_activists_journalists_receive_threatening_emails/24484213.html
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Opposition reports security clampdown in Tehran
Iranian security forces deployed in parts of Tehran on Tuesday after opposition figures called on supporters to hit the streets in protest against the year-long house arrest of their leaders, the opposition website Kaleme reported.
“Azadi (Freedom) Square is surrounded by security forces and their number, as well as the number of citizens, is increasing by the minute,” Kaleme reported, adding that police forces were also conspicuously present in other parts of the capital.
“There was a minor clash between security forces and people in Enqelab (Revolution) street,” the website said, without giving further details. Kaleme’s report could not be independently verified by Reuters.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/14/us-iran-opposition-police-idUSTRE81D16120120214?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
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Iran’s opposition struggles without detained leaders
It has been a year since the leaders of Iran’s opposition Green Movement were placed under house arrest. BBC’s Persian’s Mehrzad Kohanrouz looks at how their absence has affected opposition supporters and gauges their mood.
It was February 2011, and the Arab world was in turmoil.
As the regimes first in Tunisia and then Egypt fell, Iranian opposition leaders saw a chance to revive their own short-lived “Tehran spring”.
Two years earlier, Iranian security forces had crushed protests which erupted after the disputed presidential election.
The two candidates who lost out to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the controversial poll decided it was time to make a move.
Continue reading the main story
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Start Quote
The Green Movement is alive and successful because it moved beyond the Islamic Republic’s ideology”
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Kaveh
Email to BBC Persian
Mir Hossein Mousavi, a former prime minister, and Mehdi Karroubi, a former speaker of parliament and senior cleric, applied for official permission to hold a rally in support of the Arab protesters.
Their request was refused, but on 14 February thousands of people across Iran defied the authorities and took to the streets.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17028794
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Letter Writers Break Iranian Taboo
A letter-writing campaign to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has shattered a taboo against criticizing the country’s top religious and political authority.
The shift comes ahead of protests that could further challenge the Iranian government in the weeks before elections on March 2. Iran’s opposition Green Movement, student activists and the main reform political parties have called for nationwide demonstrations Tuesday to demand the release of opposition leaders under house arrest and call for democracy.
Ahead of the protests, Tehran and other cities were under heightened security on Monday, with more police checkpoints and disruption of cellphone and Internet service.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204642604577214420133674482.html?mod=fox_australian
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U.S., Europe consider risky penalty on Iran
The United States and Europe are considering unprecedented punishment against Iran that could immediately cripple the country’s financial lifeline. But it’s an extreme option in the banking world that would come with its own costs.
The Obama administration wants Iran evicted from SWIFT, an independent financial clearinghouse that is crucial to the country’s overseas oil sales. That would leapfrog the current slow-pressure campaign of sanctions aimed at persuading Iran to drop what the U.S. and its allies contend is a drive toward developing and building nuclear weapons. It also perhaps would buy time for the U.S. to persuade Israel not to launch a pre-emptive military strike on Iran this spring.
The last-resort financial effort suggests the U.S. and Europe are grasping for ways to show immediate results because economic sanctions have so far failed to force Iran back to nuclear talks
But such a penalty could send oil prices soaring when many of the world’s economies are still frail. It also could hurt ordinary Iranians and undercut the reputation of SWIFT, a banking hub used by virtually every nation and corporation around the world. The organization’s full name is the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications.
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2012/02/ap-us-europe-consider-risky-penalty-on-iran-021412/
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Young people in Iran celebrate Valentine’s Day despite ban
Even under the pressure of sanctions, economic difficulties and threat of military attack, love continues to burn hot and glow deep for Iranian youth, who, like their Western counterparts, exchange chocolates and flowers on Feb. 14.
Despite the government’s decision to ban Valentine’s Day gifts — in a bid to discourage the spread of “Western” culture — love is still in the air this Valentine’s day in the Islamic state.
The authorities said that they would take legal action against those who ignore this ban.
Gifts are stacked up in special Valentine’s baskets and on the shelves of local stalls with heart-shaped toys dominating the shop windows in central Tehran.
“It (Valentine’s) is very important for Iran’s youth in the sense that they are looking for an excuse to prove their love to one-another. Valentine’s day is an international day, which has found its place in Iran over the past few years. It has been five or six years that our youth are doing this: buying toys and chocolates for their loved ones,” said shop-keeper Sadegh Saberi.
http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/international/article/186961–young-people-in-iran-celebrate-valentine-s-day-despite-ban
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Reports of scattered street demonstrations in Tehran
Islamic Republic security measures are tightening all across Tehran while reports of groups chanting “Death to the Dictator!” have been reported in Takht Tavoos Street in Central Tehran.
In Azadi and Vanak Squares, people can be heard chanting slogans. Since last night, citizens have been receiving random text messages saying: “Dear citizen, if you access anti-Revolutionary networks or attend any illegal gathering you will be prosecuted according to the Articles 489. 500 and 508 of the Islamic penal code.”
Plainclothes forces as well as security and police officers are reported along all the major streets as well as the route of the proposed silent March as indicated in the opposition’s rally call.
Anti-riot police and equipment have been deployed, and all businesses along Azadi Street have been warned to close their stores in case of any disturbance.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/feb/1144.html
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Iranian public warned against joining opposition rally
The Tehran Governor has announced that the authorities are prepared to confront any attempt to hold public demonstrations on February 14.
Morteza Tamaddon dismissed the opposition’s call to rally demonstrators on February 14 as a mere “promotional show.” He said: “Tehran is equipped with all forms of security systems [to confront the demonstrators].”
In an interview with the Young Reporters Club, Tamddon said: “After the sedition of 2009, we have dealt with many such rallies, but this one is just a promotional show by the anti-revolutionary opposition.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/feb/1134.html
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Iranian MP denounces internet service disruptions
Iranian MP Ahmad Tavakoli says the recent blocking of internet and satellite services, causing sudden and unexplained disruptions, is creating widespread discontent that could be “very costly” for the regime.
Tavakoli, who is also the head of Parliament’s Centre for Research, told the Mehr News Agency: “This method of filtering, on the one hand, draws people toward breaking the law and using proxies, and on the other hand, makes the blocking of sites and signals ineffective, because the use of proxies becomes widespread.”
In the past few days, Iranian internet users have not been able to access foreign websites, and even sites like Yahoo Mail, Gmail, Yahoo Messenger and other email services have been sporadically unavailable.
Tavakoli called on officials to clearly explain the current disruptions and to stop “creating a nuisance” in people’s lives.
He added that many websites that contain “useful and specialized information” have also been blocked and need to be reopened to public access.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/feb/1135.html
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IRANIAN TABOO: A documentary exposing the Islamic regime’s attacks against the followers of the Baha’i Faith in Iran
Iranian Taboo, a documentary by Reza Allamehzadeh, will begin screening in Los Angeles from February 24 toMarch 1 at Laemmle’s Music Hall 3 in Beverly Hills and in DC, San Diego, Atlanta, Orlando, Montreal, Chicago, Toronto, San Francisco andSeattle in the following days.
Reza Allamehzadeh, an Iranian-Dutch filmmaker banned from entering his homeland, enlisted the aid of friends who clandestinely filmed inside Iran in order to explore this century old taboo.
Iranian Taboo tells the story of an Iranian Baha’i woman, Nadereh and her 14-year-old daughter who decide to sell all of their belongings and leave their homeland, to take refuge in the West.
Iranian Taboo takes us across continents from Turkey to Israel, and from the U.S. to Iran and gives us a unique insights into the persecution of Baha’is in Iran from the underground Baha’i University (BIHE) to the oppressed Baha’i peasants of the Eival village in the northern province of Mazandaran. The film includes never seen before interviews with some of the most respected Iranian scholars, authors and politicians, speaking about the persecution of Baha’is in Iran. All scenes within Iran were shot undercover by local contacts of the filmmaker.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/feb/1129.html
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Das Todesurteil des Pastors Yousef Nadarkhani
Das Todesurteil des Pastors Yousef Nadarkhani [یوسف ندرخانی] wurde zum Zwecke der Vollstreckung dem Gefängnis in Lâkân, einem Bezirk der Stadt Rašt in der Provinz Gilân übergeben.
http://parseundparse.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/das-todesurteil-des-pastors-yousef-nadarkhani/
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