Iran

So Why Not?

2012-01-28T10:47:00.000-08:00

Iran's leadership confirmed to the NCF yesterday that the consortium deal is still on the table. This is a deal whereby Iran would place all nuclear enrichment in the hands of a Western consortium operating inside of Iran. What I can't understand is why the heck the West doesn't call their bluff?

IAEA chief urges Iran to cooperate with inspectors
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Khaleej Times - 28 January, 2012
The head of the UN’s atomic watchdog urged Iran to engage constructively with a team of inspectors heading to Tehran, after a damning report on Iran’s nuclear programme.
“The high-level team leaves today and starts work tomorrow,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano said at the Davos forum.
“We hope they will take a constructive approach. We hope that there will be substantial cooperation.”
An IAEA team led by chief inspector Herman Nackaerts and his number two, Rafael Grossi, was to head to Tehran later Friday.
In November the agency said it had evidence “Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear device”, a charge it denies.

LOSING A FRIEND, AND MUCH MORE

2011-12-15T06:23:00.000-08:00

At the end of February 2010, an important dinner took place in Damascus among three of the most hated Washington enemies: hosted by the Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hezbollah’s leader Assan Nasrallah met to reinforce their “deep and brotherly ties” and condemn the Israeli and Western influence in the region. After more than one year and half, Damascus is no more a safer place to hold such meetings. With the Syrian situation escalating into an eventual civil war, Bashar finds himself isolated in the Arab community and in the world. At the moment, regime’s supporters can be counted on one hand, and Iran is the thumb.

Throughout the Middle East changing political dynamics of the last years, Iran and Syria have developed strong ties, based on shared strategic and political interests that are still vital for their governments –the above mentioned meeting is a good example of the crucial Iran-Syria-Hezbollah alliance. The uprising of the Syrian opposition movement has not changed the basic structure of this partnership, but some glimmers of change can be seen in the current developments. The problem with Syria for Tehran is that Bashar is not able to settle the situation: Syria is collapsing into chaos, and this is deeply affecting the Iranian interests in the Middle East. Ahmadinejad’ government has declared in several occasions its support forthe current Syrian regime, accusing Western powers to fuel the struggle, while Iranian military forces are reported to have helped the Syrian Army in organizing the repression. Under strong Iranian pressure, Assan Nasrallah has renewed the support of Hezbollah to the Al Assad’s regime in a rare public speech, and voices are circulating about a possible military direct involvement of Shiite fighters, if the situation for Bashar will get worse. On the other hand, Tehran authorities have issued some statements inviting Damascus to adopt a more moderate course in dealing with the demonstrators, and meetings between Iranian officials and groups of the opposition were held in the past months – Tehran’s preferences go to the non-Islamist groups of the opposition, especially after the Syrian National Council leader stated that a new Syria would break its military ties with Iran and Hezbollah. These moves reflect the Iranian priorities in the area: avoid foreign intervention by taking Syria back to a more stable situation. The “Libyanization” of Syria is not an option for Tehran, especially after the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, and considering that the military operations are driven by Turkey. Persian-Turkish relations are not that good as they were a year ago, when Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan even supported the Iranian nuclear ambitions with the Tehran Declaration. Some contrasts have arisen from the Turkish increasing activism in the Middle East affairs and especially from an eventual deployment of the anti-Iranian NATO missile shield on Turkish soil.

Stabilize Syria is also the priority for several other actors involved in the issue, affecting Iranian calculus in the issue. Despite having vetoed a UN Security Council Resolution, condemned foreign intervention, and while dispatching an aircraft carrier to the naval base of Tartus, Russia is becoming more concerned of the developments in Syria. A definite escalation of the protest into a military confrontation would weaken Moscow’s position, increasing the support for a military action, probably with Turkish decisive involvement. Limiting Turkish expansionism in the region is an Iranian goal, as we have seen, but also it is shared by another crucial regional actor, for the moment at the margins: Israel. Israeli authorities would welcome the collapse of Assad regime, especially if this would mean a big blow against Hezbollah. But an eventual Islamic government also on its northern borders is worrying Israeli strategists, after the success of Islamists movements in Egypt. Also in the Arab community some interesting dynamics are taking place. Qatar has taken a strong anti Assad stance since the beginning of the uprising, but its positive relations with Tehran would be harmfully influenced by a more aggressive position. The great Iranian regional competitor, Saudi Arabia, is not standing aside, and a rare visit of Iran’s intelligence chief, Heidar Moshlei, to Saudi Crown Prince, Nayef bin Abdel-Aziz Al Saud, has become a much speculated issue in the last days, with several possible issues at the centre of their meeting: Bahrain, the alleged Saudi Ambassador in the US murder plot, Iraq, regional security, and oil price.

It is really impossible to predict if and when the Syrian government will fall, and who will take the lead of the Syrian population in this event. Iran has much at stake in the issue, with huge implications for its foreign policy and interests in the Middle East: the collapse of the best ally in the region would surely affected Tehran’s power projection in the entire area, further isolating the regime, and this will surely have consequences also on the internal Persian power balance of the Islamic Republic.

Britain and Iran

2011-12-01T03:39:00.000-08:00

While British Diplomatic staff are on their way back home from the Persian Gulf, some consideration can be given to events of the last few days. The reaction of the Foreign Office was tough, and more has to come, as the Foreign Minister Hague stated yesterday. Probably, future actions will also involve other European countries, and the EU will have a special role in setting and implementing economic and financial sanctions, while both the US and Isreal are supporting harder plans.
The young demostrators storming the British Embassy in Tehran can be satisfied with their actions, and the media coverage remembered events of more than 30 years ago. But an additional and different explanation can be found looking at the Iranian domestic dynamics. Next Majlis elections are approaching quite fast, and the March 2012 term is already on the political table - the first elections since the much debated 2009 Presidential ones. With the reformist movements put in a corner at the moment, the real game will be played among the conservative groups. President Ahmadinejad is in troubled waters: his economic reforms are not improving the internal economic situation and his relations with part of the regime establishment and the Supreme Leader are not as good as a couple of years ago. Since Khamenei will represent the decisive player of the game as usual, the conservative factions are fighting to attract the Supreme Leader's support, and even storming a foreign Embassy could become an important signal in this struggle, along with other foreign policy issues. The Iranian population will probably face harsh times in the coming months, but some persons in Tehran smile looking at the empty British compound.

Iran chucks out the British

2011-11-29T06:58:00.000-08:00

Such a sad moment. The Iranians kick out the Brits. What a world. Childish really. And now we'll probably do the same to them:

Iran rushes through law expelling British envoy
Gulf Times - 29 November, 2011
A bill to downgrade Iran's ties with Britain got final approval yesterday a day after parliament approved the measure compelling the government to expel the British ambassador in retaliation for sanctions imposed over Tehran’s nuclear activity.

The exceptionally rapid move by the Guardian Council, a panel of 12 clerics and jurists who judge whether legislation is Islamic, reflects the urgency with which Iran is treating its reaction to the sanctions announced by Britain last week.

Iranian State TV Abuses Reuters Footage

2011-09-29T03:47:00.001-07:00

Iranian State TV news has used Reuters footage, which shows Gaddafi supporters ransacking the US embassy in Tripoli, to support its claim that Libyan rebels have taken over the US embassy and expelled its personnel.

The original Reuters footage can be seen here.

Using the same footage, Iranian State TV broadcast this report. The news anchor says “The revolutionary people of Libya then went towards the US embassy and took it over. The US government has still shown no reaction to this action by the revolutionary people of Libya.”

Pro-government newspapers often report that Iran is the leader of the Arab Spring, claiming that the people of Libya, Tunisia and Egypt want to create an Islamic Republic based on the Iranian model.

Iran Plans to Send Navy Close to US Waters

2011-09-28T04:24:00.000-07:00

Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, the commander-in-chief of the Iranian navy, announced on Tuesday that his country was planning on deploying ships close to US territorial waters. The Irna news agency reported that Admiral Sayyari said “As the global oppression [the US] is present not far from our maritime border, our navy is going to have a strong presence not far from US territorial waters”. The comments come as a high-ranking Iranian official appeared to reject the US request to establish a “red phone” link between the two governments in order to avoid further confrontation. According to press reports Ali Fadavi, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, said “When we are in the Gulf of Mexico, we will establish direct contact with the United States”. Since last year, Iranian military vessels have increased their presence in international waters. Iran regularly launched vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden to protect Iranian ships from Somali pirates, whilst officials announced in July that a Kilo class submarine had completed an inaugural mission in the Indian Ocean. In addition, Iran sent two vessels into the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal for the first time in February, which aggravated Israel and the United States.

War Against War

2011-09-14T04:34:00.000-07:00

Press TV, the Iranian based twenty- four hour news network is facing criticism for failing to provide adequate coverage of the recent UK riots. The network was branded a ‘$25 million News Network with No News’ by the website Nedaye Enghelab (Message of the Revolution) which is traditionally affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards. On the one hand, Press TV, the state- funded station, claims that its primary aim is to counter ‘western bias’ in acting as a ‘second eye’ for Western and Iranian audiences alike; however, harsh criticism last week expressed dissatisfaction with the channel’s weak exposure of the perceived ‘justice- seeking uprisings’ in the UK.

The Nedaye Enghelab website believes it would have been in the best interests of Iran to have stepped up the coverage on the situation in England, speculating that events could represented the beginnings of a ‘mass movement’ in the UK. The report also indicates that the Iranian government might have been able to capitalise on the instability in Britain; the London branch of Press TV, under the guidance of former Labour MP George Galloway, was criticised for not assuming ‘ideological leadership’ of the protestors. It is argued that representing the ‘masses’ in the UK would have provided a platform for the Iranian government to enter into dialogue with Westminster, especially in terms of negotiating the Iranian assets currently frozen in UK bank accounts. As an ‘overseas arm’ of the government, Press TV was said to be in a position to ‘avenge’ the British government’s alleged participation in the 2009 unrest in Iran. BBC Persia reportedly broadcast thirty one accounts of ‘fabricated’ election fraud, which is claimed to have disillusioned people and further contributed to the escalation of the 2009 election protests. To this end, the Nedaye Enghelab website claims that Iran has missed an opportunity to further their side in the ‘Soft War’ with the UK- something which they largely attribute to a lack of professionalism at Press TV.

As a ‘victim’ of this ‘western bias’, and a citizen of London myself, I find it hard to conceive of how, given sufficient details of the events, the UK rioters could be upheld as ‘justice- seeking protestors’. What those responsible for the criticism of Press TV have failed to realise is that the rioters on the streets of Britain had, for the most part, no central unifying factor. Their actions were not politically motivated, and as more and more evidence comes to light, it is becoming increasingly difficult to draw parallels with the criminal activities of a select few in the UK, who essentially jeopardised the freedoms of others, and the ‘justice- seeking’ protestors in nations like Egypt, Libya, and Syria who have been protesting for their own basic freedoms. It is an insult to the sacrifices made by genuinely disadvantaged people to suggest that Press TV’s perceived weak coverage of the UK riots is a government attempt to thwart movements for freedom and justice across the world. It seems apparent that the real issue in hand here is the extent of the Iranian people’s disillusionment with their own government: the fact that Press TV receives so much investment from the government leaves them wide open to criticism from dissatisfied viewers. Whilst Press TV may not have been adequately representing the views of many of those from within Iran, the extent of their coverage was in fact directly proportional to the minimal impact that the UK riots had on the international spectrum.

Satire 'attack' in Iran

2011-09-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

The magazine 'Shahrvand-e- Emrooz' was shut down on Monday 5th September amid growing concerns that the Iranian authorities are stepping up their crackdown on freedom of expression. Over a month ago now, the digitally- doctored image of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appeared on the front cover of the Iranian magazine, depicting the President in a 16th century style Persian setting, surrounded by political figures; one of whom being Ahmadinejad's confidant Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei. It has been deemed particularly offensive to the Iranian President, who is portrayed as subservient; surrendering his executive status to Mashaei who is making a speech. The picture implies weakness from Ahmadinejad who is illustrated as being nothing more than a modern figurehead to an anachronistic, and out of touch regime.

Whilst the magazine has been shut down in previous years, especially in light of its influence on the 2009 election protests in Iran, it does seem logical to presume some sort of connection between last month's satire and the closure of the publication on Monday. The Iranian goverment do seem to have adopted a more relaxed approach to opposition newspapers and magazines in recent weeks, in anticipation of the build up to the Parliamentary elections in March 2012. Indeed, last week, Iran pardoned one hundred political prisoners in an attempt to 'ease' political tensions in the capital.

On the other hand however, it must also be taken into account that Ahmadinejad has been keeping two opposition leaders under house arrest since mid- February; they have therefore effectively been prevented from exercising any sort of political influence whilst demonstrations have been gripping the rest of the Arab world. The satire published by the magazine Shahrvand-e- Emrooz represents a snipe at the President’s widely criticised relationship with the father of his son- in- law, Mashaei, whom many believe he would like to see become the next President. However, Ahmadinejad’s close ties with Mashaei have also been interpreted as a move to extend his own political influence; being seen to be affiliated with Mashaei’s more liberal views could potentially broaden his support base, and increase his popularity in preparation for the 2012 elections.

The magazine’s satire therefore represents a particular freedom of speech that Ahmadinejad is not yet willing to sacrifice. Similarly, the publication ‘Roozegar’ was also closed on Monday, most probably for its mention of the 2009 protests in a recent interview with the political analyst Morad Saghafi. In fact, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s perceived efforts to further Iranian ‘cultural openness’ recently have been described as nothing more than ‘conciliatory gestures’ by Reporters Without Borders, and it is still commonly recognised that journalists remain prime targets in Iran.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/06/iran-newspaper-closed-ahmadinejad-satire?CMP=twt_gu

751 days of imprisonment, followed by 8 years of jail

2011-08-25T05:15:00.001-07:00

In a closed court in Tehran, a branch of the revolutionary court, sentenced Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal (American Hikers) to eight years jail.

The men were arrested, along with a third hiker Sara Shourd in July 2009 (she was later released with a bail of $500,000). They have been charged for illegally crossing the Iranian border when hiking, and for allegedly spying for America.

The conviction of the two men has been surprising given that it happened during the month of Ramadan. Speculation was rife that they would have been released as a humanitarian gesture. Hilary Clinton said that the US was “deeply disappointed” by this sentence.

The men have twenty days to appeal the sentence.

A lesson for all ictators

2011-08-05T01:06:00.001-07:00

See how Mubarak is caged just like wild animals in the zoo.

I am sure two years ago, Egyptians could not believe that they will see very soon Mubarak (the most powerful man in Egypt at the time), in cage to face trial on charges of conspiring to kill anti-government protesters and corruption.

Yesterday when I was watching Hosni Mubarak appearance in a Cairo court, like animal kept in cage, I thought with myself, this is the moment that all dictators should learn a lesson which this is going to be the future of all of them if they continue to stand up in front of their own people.

Also there is a hopeful message for us, the Iranian people, that one day would happen for us and we will enjoy soon the freedom after throwing out the dictator(?????).

Dangerous times for Iranian nuclear scientists

2011-07-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

Darioush Rezai-Nejad, a 35 year old Iranian scientist, was assassinated in Tehran on July 23^rd. His wife was also wounded in the attack, carried out by two unknown gunmen on motorcycles. Although it is still unclear whether he had links to the Iranian nuclear program, his assassination is conspicuously similar to several attacks on Iranian nuclear scientists since 2007.

Iranian officials quickly blamed the US and Israel for the attack. US denies any involvement, while Israel refuses to comment, as they always do in intelligence matters.

Who is to gain from assassinating these people? Surely neither the US nor Israel. Assassinating individual scientists would hardly be sufficient to deter or slow down the nuclear program. Quite the contrary, both countries, by being accused of standing behind the assassinations, risk losing even more of their limited legitimacy in the Middle East, particularly in Iran. Furthermore, the Iranians are likely to be fierier about their nuclear program as a consequence of the assassinations. Hence, although the CIA or Mossad surely wouldn’t be morally disinclined to carry out such action, it is difficult to see how it would be in their interest to do so. Iran’s government has more to gain, as it gives them the opportunity to further antagonize the US and Israel, thus boosting their own legitimacy and that of their nuclear program. Whether the Iranians would be willing to kill their own scientists in a political game is, however, very uncertain.

No matter who is behind the assassinations, there is every reason to believe that the Iranian leadership will continue to use this event as effectively as possible in their political rhetoric.

2011-07-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

The UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize Winner 2011 was named on the 7^th April.

Iranian journalist, Ahmad Zeidabadi was congratulated by Hilary Clinton, along with his fellow activists, who have all been banned for life from political or civic activities.

Clinton announced that the US would continue to stand up for the rights of the Iranian people, through the UN and the UN Human Rights Council.

Mr Zeidabadi worked for, most notably, BBC Persia and reformist newspaper, Hamshahri. He is secretary general for the Office for Strengthening Unity, a member of numberous reformist movements as well as a member of Iran’s Journalists’ Union.

Zeidabadi is also the winner of the World Association of Newspapers' Golden Pen of Freedom Award for 2010.

He has been behind bars for 774 days and has never been granted furlough from prison during this time.

US withdrawal from Iraq: Impact on Iran

2011-07-26T06:43:00.000-07:00

Opinion is divided on the impact that the immanent withdrawal of US troops from Iraq will have on Iran.

Iran’s allies in Baghdad reportedly want the US out as soon as possible and analysts are saying that as U.S. withdrawal draws closer, the time has now come for Iran to act.

Many blame a cross section of Iranian political groups for the recent escalation in violence in Iraq. American officials have voiced concern over weapons which they believe Iran has been supplying to Iraqi extremists, to encourage a continuation of the increased hostilities .

US withdrawal could clear the way for Iran to claim Iraq as a new sphere of influence. If the fight is viewed as two sided; one side backed by the U.S, the other Iran-backed Sadrists; the withdrawal of the US is almost certain to sway the balance in favour of the Iranians. With no U.S. forces present, it will be in Maliki’s interest to turn towards Tehran.

Katzman says that he sees Iraq as primed to be Iran’s ‘new Syria’ but Iraqi nationalism is a growing force and there are Iraqis who resent this, not wishing to be influenced by anyone. However, there is a broad consensus among the Iraqi people that it is better to move towards Iran than bind themselves to Turkey.

An Iraqi alliance with Iran would cripple a future relationship with America, along with any investment that would come with it. This would be a blow not only for Iraq but for America too.

Whilst it is not a view commonly held, it may be the case that Iran is in fact weakened by U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.

The lack of US presence in the region will remove that which Iran has opposed for so long. Iran will lack a common enemy to unite those they wish to influence. A decline in anti-American feeling may arise leaving Iran with much reduced support in Iraq.

Some sources say that Tehran is concerned about the prospect of an Iraqi invasion; something which U.S. presence ensures will not occur.

It is hard to judge whether or not Iran will benefit from the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq but regardless of the outcome, it will be interesting to observe the international communities response to Iran in the coming years.

Iran accuses US of assassination

2011-07-26T05:05:00.000-07:00

Iran has accused the United States of assassinating a scientist who was working on its nuclear programme.

The US, Israel and many Western nations have opposed Iran’s atomic programme, fearing it may be a front to creating a nuclear bomb. The UN, US and EU have imposed sanctions on Iran that seek to make it more difficult for Iran to acquire equipment and aim at squeezing Iran’s oil and gas industry.

Iran says it is simply doing what it is allowed to do under the treaty and intends to enrich only for power station fuel or other peaceful purposes.

Isna news agency named the Iranian scientist, “Mr Rezaei” and claim he was an expert with links to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. It was said he was shot dead outside his home in Tehran.

Iran said this week that it was installing faster centrifuges at its nuclear plants, with the aim of speeding up its uranium enrichment process. Enriched uranium can be used for civilian nuclear purposes, but also to build atomic bombs.

Ashtiani Case to be reviewed and taken to Ahmadinejad

2011-07-08T03:31:00.001-07:00

The campaign to prevent Ms Ashtiani from being stoned to death for alleged adultery has recently been taken to President Ahmadinejad for a case review on April 18, 2011. British political leaders have also now united in demanding justice for Ms Ashtiani. She has now been held prisoner for 5 years and been subjected to numerous beatings and several lashes.

Ms Ashtiani’s Tehran lawyer – Mohammed Mostafaei was also imprisoned and tortured as a result of defending her.

Ms Ashtiani’s children sent out a plea to the world to come to their mother’s aid and, in response, tens of thousands of people signed online petitions and held Ms Ashtiani’s picture in demonstrations outside Iranian embassies. Scores of politicians signed an open letter expressing their horror and dismay at what Ashtiani had been put through.

The campaign certainly had an immediate impact as the Iranian Embassy in London issued a statement saying that Ms Ashtiani would not be stoned. However there is still the possibility that she could be hung. She has languished in prison for almost six years, not knowing if she will be hung or not each day.

Ms Ashtiani is no saint, she did commit adultery on her husband, who regularly beat her and aimed to sell her to friends for sex. However any claims that Iran makes about respecting human rights certainly cannot be taken seriously when looking at Ashtiani’s treatment. Her case also helped to prevent Iran’s bid for a seat on the new UN Human Right’s council. It remains to be seen whether Ashtiani’s situation will improve as a result of the case review.

Iran grows in confidence

2011-06-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

Iran is busy slating the West over Afghanistan - with some justification. At the same time it is increasing its hegemony over Iraq and has persuaded the Red Cross to cooperate over the closure ofCamp Ashraf. I REMEMBER THE DAYS WHEN THE RED CROSS WAS NOT POLITICAL. Sad wouldn't you say. But the Red Cross lost its credibility when it helped the UN impose sanctions via UNSCR 1284 that led to the Iraq war and it seems in no hurry to become respectable again if its latest actions are anything to go by. Iran must be delighted.

Supreme Leader

See Here for the Supreme Leader on Afghanistan

Camp Ashraf

See Here for the Camp Ashraf fiasco

UNWELCOME: Iran's support for Bahrain's Shia

2011-06-10T03:23:00.001-07:00

Iran is and has always been a Shia country with a majority of 95%. Bahrain is also classified as having a Shia majority, however their Sunni government insist that the consensus published with population statistics is biased and inaccurate. Over the last several months of Shia demonstrations, (mainly taking place in Pearl Square) 27 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in the fight for a constitutional monarchy instead of the existing system where policy remains the preserve of a ruling elite centred on the Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty. After the State of Emergency was lifted, Bahrain faced scrutiny from the West and human rights monitors: the heavy handed, brutal and violent approach of the security forces in handling (the initially peaceful) demonstrators was abhorred internationally. The Bahrain Ministry of Interior has recently asserted that all Shia-related claims of abuse within the custodial system will be investigated thoroughly, yet with their lack of an established and fair judicial system; their claim falls on deaf and certainly unpacified ears. The Sunnis will never allow Shia power to develop, as it would undoubtedly mean the demise of the currently favoured and well-employed minority.

There have been many claims from Bahrain governmental officials that Iran has systemically funded and coordinated the Shia protests - indirect evidence has apparently been witnessed including bank transactions and telephone conversations between the two parties. An unavoidable truth backing the Sunni government's accusations is that PRESS TV - a Tehran based television station - has aired nothing else but Bahrain Shiite propaganda during the protests and seems to be trying very hard to incite anger toward the Sunni government. Bahrain is admittedly a strategically perfect country in to which Iran could expand its influence and eventually occupy; therefore taking advantage of Bahrain's current destabilised situation would compliment this ambition. There is also another incentive for Iran to involve itself in Bahrain's protests: Bahrain is an emerging liberal democracy that is paving the way by example for other Gulf States to follow suit. With its comparatively relaxed laws and thriving economy (see BAPCO), Bahrain is in an enviable but perhaps scorned upon position. This idea of progressive, more Westernised Muslim countries does not suit Iran or its agendas one bit; therefore it would be in their interests to encourage unrest within Bahrain. On the other hand, it is quite convenient for Bahrain to account its extreme damage control methods to an effort of protecting its nation from Iran. The Northern Irish "Popish Plot" comes to mind.

Whether Iran is involved in Bahrain's unrest or not, turbulence and violence has occurred because of the unjust and biased methods of rule. Bahrain is a fanastic country with a friendly nation, but the brute force executed by the Sunni government upon fellow Bahrain (although Shiite) civilians is unforgivable in many eyes.

British Media Watchdog dams Press TV for broadcasting a coerced confession of a London based Journalist.

2011-05-24T04:22:00.001-07:00

Press TV, the Iranian television station, that is based in London and launched in 2007, could have its licence revoked by the British Media Watchdog.

The grounds for the revocation are based on the fact that Press TV filmed inside Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison. It filmed a Newsweek journalist, London-based Maziar Bahari, who is faced with charges of espionage. In this “interview” Mr Bahari was forced to read a confession, otherwise he was told he would face execution. He was arrested while covering the 2009 electoral protests against President Ahmadinejad.

Ofcom accuses Press TV of infringing his privacy. The Foreign and Commonwealth Offices went so far as to state “Press TV’s actions are unacceptable and reprehensible” and “ it had been concerned for some time by serious allegations that Press TV has been involved in broadcasting allegations obtained under duress”.

Can you stop what is being said?

2011-05-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

In a world in which footballers are able to take out superinjunctions, perhaps Press TV could be thought of with some degree of respectability (all things being relative).
If anyone had picked up a copy of "The Sunday Times" this weekend they would have seen the article on Press TV on page 12 was another which put the Osama Bin Laden killing in the same category as the denial of The Holocaust.
Whether you are a Royalist or not there were smears over the Royal family,after a very succsessful visit to Ireland a couple of days ago, perhaps it was this that annoyed Press TV so much what with that and Nat West having closed Press TV's main trading account in the UK.
By rights Britain is a difficult place to be in at the moment or so Press TV would have us believe with incestuos Royals - but with the Duke of Edinburgh making 90, there is a lot going for them. A senior Diplomat said of Press TV he would like it silenced.

Notes from meeting with Jonathan Paris focusing on his report " Prospects for Iran" published by the Legatum Institute

2011-05-19T03:16:00.000-07:00

Iran:

•Iran lost its legitimacy after the failed June 2009 elections.
•The catalyst for the Arab Spring is founded in the above mentioned failure.
•Little media attention is now being paid to the nuclear issue. The Iranian leadership does not want to become a nuclear power- they have other issues to deal with at the moment. For example the internal rivalries between Ahmadinejad and Khamenei.
•Will there be regime change before Iran becomes a nuclear power?
•A nuclear Iran is a problem because of its regional political influence.
•Iran won’t attack Israel, because Israel has second strike capabilities.
•More focus should be given to human rights issues.

Iran as the key to the non-proliferation

2011-05-17T07:35:00.000-07:00

Western analysts and media have been arguing for a few years, that Iran and its potential owenrship of nuclear weapons might set a fatal blow for decades-long efforts of non-proliferation, due to its connection with non-state proxies. This might well be true in case Iran actually acquires 'the bomb', but at the same time Teheran might potentially play a crucial role in the acceptance of non-proliferation as a world-wide policy.
If the international community could succesfully help Iran with its energy needs and fully exploit the means of public and private diplomacy in the region to limit Teheran's quest for nuclear energy, it might well set a precedence and win wide support for further non-proliferation efforts. Therefore, Teheran and not Washington and Moscow should be the main target of the proliferation debates.

The overthrow of the Assad government - implications for Iran.

2011-05-06T07:05:00.001-07:00

Syria has been Iran’s steadfast ally in the region since 1979. However the Syrian government is currently facing huge internal unrest, with the US accusing Iran of influencing Syria not to acquiesce to these protests. It has been suggested that Iran has provided Syria with crowd control and communications equipment.

The motivation for this alleged support is that the overthrow of the Assad regime could be a major foreign policy setback for Iran because the two countries share a strategic interest in Hezbollah.

The Future for the UN and Tehran

2011-03-24T05:23:00.000-07:00

I recently took part in a mock United Nations (MUN) debate on the topic of Iranian nuclear capabilities which seems all the more relevent today having just read about Iran's recent attempts to purchase banned substances from North Korea.
Iran has signed up to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and therefore should be held accountable to this.
Whilst the rest of the UN must aknowledge Iran's right to develop nuclear capabilities for the purpose of generating electricity, it is the view of many that Iran should and must not be allowed to disregard their previous agreements and international law.
It is now perhaps time for the UN to impose stricter sanctions on Iran and I believe the Iranian government should be expected to allow UN weapons inspectors to examine the full extent of their nuclear capabilities.
It is clear to most of the world that Iran's nuclear programme is not purely for seeking alternative energy sources and it may now be the case that it is necessary for the UN to accept that Iran will be a nuclear power and look to creating alternative arrangements to work more constructively with Iran.
I feel that the time has come to stop attempting to avoid the inevitable. Whilst it is not ideal that the UN is seen to 'give in' to Iran, they must work with what is happening in reality rather than what they would like the situation to be.

The Karoubi affair

2011-03-06T16:06:00.000-08:00

This came in from Potkin:

Eye witnesses have reported the mysterious aid close to the Supreme Leader, known as Vahid, to have been personally involved and led the kidnap of Karroubi and his wife, Fatemeh.

Vahid Haghanian, more commonly known simply as Vahid, is the deputy executive of the Supreme Leader's office. He has become known as an influential figure whose duties include co-ordination of various military, political and security units as well as delivering the Supreme Leader's messages. He is said to be the Supreme Leader's right hand man and yet very little is known about him. None of the better known people around the Supreme Leader have ever commented or mentioned anything about him in their memoires.

First pictures of Vahid ever seen in public were during Ahmadienjad's inauguration, where he was seen handing the presidency edict to the Supreme Leader, a task normally carried out by either the former president or the head of the Assembly of Experts.

Bahrain and Iran

2011-02-15T08:12:00.000-08:00

There have been Shiite protests in both Bahrain and Iran. The protests in Bahrain have been particularly concerning with some 25,000 marching today in the downtown area. In Iran the protests more severe yesterday:

Associated Press - 15 February, 2011

Clashes between Iranian police and tens of thousands of protesters wracked central Tehran on Monday as security forces beat and fired tear gas at opposition supporters hoping to evoke Egypt’s recent popular uprising.

FOR FULL STORY CLICK HERE >>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sanctions don't work

2010-11-25T01:56:00.000-08:00

My fear is that continuing sanctions on Iran will create a climate in which Iran builds closer and closer trading links with other nations that have offended the West. Thus economic as well as political alliances are forged ever deeper between Sudan, Syria, North Korea et al creating a new community of defiant nations:

Gulf Times - 25 November, 2010

Despite Western nations tightening the screws on Iran, a top aide to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says increasingly tough sanctions have failed. On the eve of fresh negotiations with Western powers tentatively set for December 5, Ahmadinejad confidant Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi said it was time for them to “stop fooling themselves” over the effectiveness of measures designed to pressure Iran into abandoning its uranium enrichment programme.

TO VIEW FULL STORY CLICK HERE

Iran steps closer to nuclear power

2010-10-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Today, despite faulty parts, cyber-missiles, ‘severe hot weather’, and international sanctions, Iranian engineers have finally started loading fuel into the core of the Bushehr power plant with the view to producing nuclear energy by the new year.

Tehran claims it needs the power to meet a growing demand for energy, but the West remains convinced that this is a merely cover for the production of nuclear weapons.

The defiance of Iran only grows stronger in the face of international outrage. Veiled, and failed, attempts from the West to prevent today’s step towards nuclear capability, simply add to the prestige and kudos surrounding Ahmedinejad and his cheeky disregard for international condemnation.

Rather than fretting over the inevitable, the West should turn its attention to other smaller, impressionable states considering the advantages of nuclear capability, and cajole them away from the nuclear arms race.

Like all vices, vehement banning of them only makes them appear more glamorous. If nuclear weapons weren’t so cool and dangerous, governments would not be so keen to get their hands on them.

Stuxnet Cyber-Missile: the hidden face of modern warfare.

2010-10-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

The Stuxnet worm is malign software designed to infect and disrupt industrial-control systems.

The unusual complexity involved in its creation suggests it is the work of a team of well-funded experts, most probably with the backing of a national government.

The worm, transmitted via USB memory stick, is specially designed to target a particular configuration of a particular type of industrial-control system. So while traces of the virus were found in Indonesia, India, and the US, 60% of the computers attacked were in
Iran.

The ability to home-in on a specific target gives the virus the title ‘cyber-missile’. Computer warfare is specific, deniable, and very difficult to trace.

The limitation of such warfare is that it only delays progress. A cyber attack takes weeks to recover from, a physical attack takes years.

Also in the nature of a cyber attack is its ambiguity: it can be hard to tell whether an attack has been successful, or indeed, has happened at all.

The Iranian Telecommunications Minister, Reza Taqipour, admitted the virus had infected computers at the power plant in Bushehr, but that it had not caused ‘serious damage to governmental systems’.

Speculators think the real target may have been the centrifuges at the nuclear refinery at Natanz.

Regardless, the Stuxnet virus has shown the capabilities of the West to disrupt Iran’s controversial nuclear programme without exerting physical force.

The Nuclear Chief (and Vice President) denied the delay in the opening of Iran’s first nuclear power plant was due to Stuxnet. He placed the blame on a ‘small leak’ instead.

But the veracity of ministerial statements is often harder to trace than even the most complex of cyber-missiles.

Researchers at Symantec speculate the origin of Stuxnet to be Israel, due to obscure references hidden in the soft-ware coding.

For example, a reference to the date May 9, 1979, which was the day on which a prominent Iranian Jew, Habib Elghanian, was executed by the new Islamic government shortly after the revolution.

Although others say this explanation bares all the hallmarks of a pseudo-Nostrodamus conspiracy theory. Why would the authors of such a sophisticated virus leave clues and allow it to attract such attention?

N.B.
Faulty parts (by James Blitz of the Financial Times 22/07/2010)

Perhaps the best-known of the alleged attempts to sabotage Iran’s nuclear programme came in 2006, when power supplies at the enrichment facility in Natanz blew up.

The blast destroyed no fewer than 50 centrifuges. Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, then head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation, said later that the equipment had been “manipulated”.

There have been other examples. A Swiss company that provided Iran with spare parts for its enrichment programme is reported to have been persuaded by the CIA to introduce defective elements. In 2004, the New York Times reported that inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency stumbled upon vacuum pumps at Natanz that had been cleverly damaged so they did not work properly.

In June 2008, an Iranian businessman was sentenced to death for allegedly supplying defective equipment to the nuclear programme. No details were given of what the equipment was. But an Iranian counter-intelligence official said the incident did irreversible damage.

Germans Arrested in Iran

2010-10-12T05:19:00.000-07:00

Two German reporters have been arrested at the office of Houtan Kian, the lawyer of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, while trying to interview the son of the condemned woman.

Tehran alleges that the Germans entered the country on tourist visas, without the correct permit to carry out journalistic work in Iran.

The German Foreign Ministry has not commented on the identities of the journalists, although it is speculated that they may be working freelance for Bild am Sonntag, a mass-circulated tabloid-style Sunday newspaper.

Report of the arrest came from Mina Ahadi, founder of the German-based International Committee Against Stoning, who had set up the meeting and was acting as an interpreter over the phone from Germany. She was on the phone when the arrests happened.

Neither Mr Kian nor Mr Ghaderzadeh, Ashtiani’s son, has been heard from since the arrests.

It is likely that Iran will use the journalists to gain political concessions from Germany, in the same way they manipulated the release of the French student Clotilde Reiss. Relations between the two countries are frosty due to dispute over Iranian nuclear capability and ongoing international condemnation of the sentencing to death by stoning of Ashtiani.

These latest arrests are further proof that Iran is actively trying to censor foreign media reporting from the country.

Recently, Iranian-Canadian journalist Hossein Derakhshan was sentenced to 19 and half years of prison. Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, another journalist and a blogger was also sentenced to 15 years last week.

In July the El Pais correspondent, Angeles Espinosa, was detained after interviewing the son of Grand Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri, who was critical of the current regime. On Monday Tehran cancelled Espinosa’s residency permit and ordered her to leave the country within two weeks.

Such heavy-handed censorship is always a mark of paranoia and guilt on the half of the ruling authority.

Visit to Lebanon amid Testing Times

2010-10-11T06:58:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 13th October heralds the arrival of the provocative Iranian Chief Executive on his first official visit to Lebanon.

In recent months Ahmadinejad has showed his tireless dedication to butting into world affairs: stealing the limelight at the UN last month, writing to the Pope, wooing Cuba, bitching about the Americans with Syria, and now this week visiting Lebanon just as sectarian grudges are on the verge of erupting.

Regretfully over the weekend Sheikh Nasrallah rebuffed the rumours that the Iranian President would make use of Lebanon’s geographic proximity to his nation’s archenemy in order to hurl stones across the border.

Instead he will officially open ‘Iran Garden’ on a hilltop overlooking Israeli farmland. It will stand as a blatant display of the Iranian money pumped into the area via Hezbollah in the aftermath of the 2006 conflict between Israel and the militia.

It may not be as photo-opportunistic as stone-throwing, but an Iranian flag fluttering over a children’s playground is certainly a more enduring and galling provocation to Israel and the world.

Lebanese politics are at a very sensitive and complicated stage and the US State Department believes Iran is “actively undermining Lebanon’s sovereignty” through its patronage of Hezbollah.

And yet August’s hold on $100million of military aid to Lebanon has widened the arsenal-shaped gap between the national army and the militia. As Nasrallah explained, “Hezbollah does not trust the Lebanese government’s bureaucracy. And the Iranians paid in cash.” This is why the militia is Lebanon’s strongest armed force.

What is more, the solid new houses and Iranian-financed tarmac roads in South Lebanon will offer secure firing positions and efficient routes to militia strongholds should any fighting break out.

And break out they might.

The results of the UN tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri are likely to arrive this month, and most people can already guess what they’ll say. Should members of Hezbollah be indicted, violence between the Shiite force and Hariri’s mainly Sunni allies would be agonizingly predictable; with the added frisson of potentially dragging Syria and Iran into the fray.

Equally, should Israel or the US choose to strike the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities, Hezbollah would, apparently, have no option but to consider military retaliation on its patron’s behalf.

All we can do for now is hold our breath and see what developments Wednesday brings.

Ahmadinejad rubbishes peace talks.

2010-09-03T08:38:00.000-07:00

In his first comments about the current peace talks taking place between Israel and Palestine, Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claims that they will almost certainly fail. During his address at the annual pro-palestinian rally, Ahmadinejad supported Palestinian resistance of the Israeli occupation saying that it should continue. He implied that talks in Washington between the two sides had no value and that the conclusion would only ever be reached in Palestine. Will a solution ever be reached?

New uranium plants to be built despite continued UN opposition.

2010-09-03T04:46:00.000-07:00

Plans for the construction of 10 new unranium enrichment plants are going ahead following a fourth round of UN sanctions. This is occurring amid growing unease surrounding Iran's nuclear programme.
Despite insistance by Iranian authorities that their nuclear developments are of an entirely peaceful nature, these proposed additions to Iran's intensifying focus on nuclear projects are bringing further cause for concern for Western governments. David Cameron has been quoted as saying, 'The reports that we have seen certainly do not give us any comfort that Iran is moving in the right direction.'
The director of Iran's atomic energy organisation believes that they will not come up against military intervention as the international community has previously expressed suspicion regarding Iran's nuclear agenda.
Iran continues to defy the UN's ongoing requests for cooperation and its call for a nuclear fuel deal.

An Iranian View of the Nuclear Weapons issue

2010-08-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

Iran sees itself as wrongly targeted in a Mid East where Israel holds nuclear weapons without drawing international condemnation. An Iranian friend sent the following article which explains their perspective (click on the title to access the link):

Israel’s illicit stockpile of nuclear weapons is the real threat to Middle East peace (Part I)
By Ibrahim Kazerooni

Will Israel strike tonight?

2010-08-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

Seems unlikely that Israel will indeed strike Iran this evening - but Iran's big Russian built nuclear power station goes online tomorrow. Clearly the matter has been discussed in Israel's cabinet and clearly there are those who argue that tomorrow's switch on should not go ahead. Say a prayer and keep your fingers crossed. We live in interesting times:

Iran entitled to peaceful nuclear energy, says Russia

Gulf Today - 20 August, 2010

Russia’s nuclear chief said on Thursday that the planned startup of Iran’s first nuclear power plant will demonstrate that Iran is entitled to peaceful use of nuclear energy under international supervision.

To view full story click here

Isolating Iran

2010-07-16T05:05:00.000-07:00

Current attempts at dealing with Iran are based on the aim of isolating it from the rest of the international community. This is why the UN, as well as the US and EU, have imposed sanctions which seek to harm Iran’s international trade. The EU sanctions, approved on the 17th of July, seek to hit investment in Iran’s major source of income, the oil and gas industry. As a result of the UN sanctions, the UAE Central Bank told financial institutions in the UAE to freeze 41 Iranian bank accounts. Indeed, under pressure by the international community, the Dubai Financial Services Authority further warned companies to conduct risk assessment when dealing with banks and other clients domiciled in Iran. This is significant because trade between Iran and Dubai has historically been highly profitable for both countries. The effect of such sanctions and international pressure can be seen in the fact that trade between Iran and the UAE will halve to $6 billion in 2010 from 2008, according to Dubai’s Iranian Business Council. The US has imposed some of the harshest measures aimed at stopping any lucrative investment in to Iran. For example, any company that provides Iran with refined petroleum products will not have access to US markets. Such measures have meant that major companies have stopped investment in to Iran; we recently saw BP refusing to supply Iran Air with jet fuel.

However, the West has also tried more political and diplomatic measures in trying to isolate Iran. It has increasingly tried to undermine the alliances which Iran has made with other countries. China and Russia were the biggest thorns in the side of the West over dealings with Iran. The US soon realised that any attempt to isolate Iran would be severely damaged without the cooperation of these two powers. This is because they can block UN sanctions (through their veto in the Security Council), supply Iran with more investment (compensating for the effect of sanctions) and trade military goods with Iran. Indeed, in February this year, the Financial Times reported that China was set to overtake the EU as Iran’s largest trading partner. Equally alarmingly for the West, Russia has continued to supply Iran militarily; in 2005 Russia and Iran signed a £386 million contract for Russia to sell it 29 Tor-M1 missile systems. Russia has sold Iran a vast array of military equipment, including T-72 tanks and MiG-29 aircraft. Let us also not forget that the nuclear reactor at Bushehr is Russian built! It is therefore unsurprising the both Russia and China were initially reluctant to support sanctions on Iran. Early in 2010, China’s foreign minister Yang Jiechi said, "Pressure and sanctions are not the fundamental way forward to resolving the Iran nuclear issue.”

However, both these countries did give in to international pressure and voted for the latest (tougher) UN sanctions. Russia in particular has recently been happier to tow the American line. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev even conceded on the 12th of July that Iran was closer to being able to make nuclear weapons. It is still unclear whether the planned shipment from Russia to Iran of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles (which would make an Israeli/US strike on nuclear targets in Iran much more difficult) is going ahead. China has maintained opposition to any unilateral imposition of sanctions such as the US ones. It is unclear where China will go from here but it seems unlikely, given economic ties, that China will allow any further measures against Iran. One effect of cooperation by Russia and China with the UN sanctions, however, is that the role of Brazil and Turkey has become an increasingly important issue. It is yet to be seen what impact they will have on resolving the nuclear issue, having both voted against the latest round of sanctions.

But whether or not the policy of isolating Iran is working, it is simply the wrong policy to adopt in the first place. What the West has not understood is that support for Iran’s defiant attitude is premised on the idea that Iran is surrounded by enemies. Since the early days of Western meddling in Middle Eastern affairs, many Iranians have felt manipulated, feeling that everyone always to get something out of Iran. An early sign of this was the British and American backed coup which removed Mussadiq from power in 1953. This was clearly linked to the nationalisation of the oil industry and led Iranians to believe that the West would do anything to maintain its strategic interests in Iran. The event which still generates anger amongst Iranians today is the Iran-Iraq war of 1980. This was a war which Iran fought in self defence, in which up to 1 million Iranians ended up dead and yet the US publicly supported Iraq and bankrolled their war effort. Not only this, but the USA actually attacked an Iranian civilian airliner (Iran Air Flight 655) in 1988, murdering 290 civilians. It is no wonder that Iranians feel that it is the West which is aggressive and threatening in light of these events. More recently, the US have surrounded Iran with its military. The US now has a military presence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia as well as use of military facilities in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan. From an Iranian perspective, they are surrounded by around 200,000 US troops. In addition to this, members of the Arab GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) continue to buy large amounts of weapons from the US and the UK, further militarising the Persian Gulf.

In essence, the Iranian psyche is one of victimhood. It is the notion that Iran continues to suffer the shrewd attempts of the West to exploit it and remove its sovereignty. This is coupled with the fact that Iran is surrounded by Arab countries who all (except Syria) backed Iraq’s aggressive military expansion in to Iran in 1980. This is why trying to isolate Iran does not work as a policy in trying to stop their nuclear development, because it is that isolation which drives them to defy the West in the first place.

Iran's Bloggers

2010-07-12T07:39:00.001-07:00

Last week international media was united in condemning the Iranian government for sentencing Sakineh Mohammadi Astiani to death for adultery. Correctly the execution to be carried out by stoning was loudly criticized and under international pressure was halted. Fears are now growing for the safety of her son who was integral in starting the campaign to free his mother from the shackles of a regime that day-by-day is isolating Iran from the international community in a manner unprecedented since the darkest days of the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.

Whilst it is easy for the Western media to portray Iran as a soon to be nuclear pariah, care must be taken to remember that the regime is not always representative of the people. Some samplings of recent Iranian blogs testify powerfully to this:

Fariborz Shamshiri on Rotten Gods today writes:

Ayatollah Paul the octopus

Paul the octopus had eight correct predictions in 2010 FIFA World Cup so if there is anyone or anything deserve to be called Ayatollah, it is the octopus.

Blogger Bingala:

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Election School

June, the cheating season.

DR02 on sweethallucinations:
While these useless summits are held around the planet, Iran has become the only country in the world to go totally Green & we are proud of it.

Yet these comments are rare. I decided to do this blog on humour amongst Iranian bloggers. The website where Iranian bloggers write in English is pooled on http://www.iranianbloggers.com/.

However, whilst I found these three comments what is clear is that many of the blogs have simply ceased to be updated. Whilst many bloggers lose interest, many of the blogs on the website were critical and then just stopped being updated. Such developments could be innocuous, yet it must be the case that at the very least, a climate of fear has enveloped some would-be Iranian bloggers who are critical of their government.

A rough survey of the English blogs on the above mentioned website show that:

· There are 67 Iranian blogs writing in English.

· Of them only 15 have been updated in 2010.

· Five of them are writing on non-political topics - for example, technology and tourism.

· Two are writing from a pro-government stance.

· Only eight are active and critical of the government.Therefore, only eleven per cent of the blogs are active and simultaneously critical of the government.

No doubt this is not definitive analysis, the reasons to stop blogging are numerous. Nevertheless, combined with endless reports documenting the tightening of the media in Iran - this statistic seems to confirm these trends.

No stoning

2010-07-10T12:03:00.000-07:00

Well here's good news. The girl who was slated to be stoned for adultery is to be spared. Stonings are rarer in Iran these days which is good.

Sakineh was convicted of adultery, like all the other 12 women and one of the men awaiting stoning. But her children and lawyer say she is innocent and that she did not get a fair trial -- they state her confession was forced from her and, speaking only Azerbaijani, she did not understand what was being asked of her in court.
Despite Iran's signing of a UN convention that requires the death penalty only be used for the "most serious crimes" and despite the Iranian Parliament passing a law banning stoning last year, stoning for adultery continues.
Sakineh's lawyer says the Iranian government "is afraid of Iranian public reaction and international attention" to the stoning cases. And after Turkey and Britain's Foreign Ministers spoke out against Sakineh's sentence, it was suspended.
Sakineh's brave children are leading the international campaign to save their mother and stop stoning. Massive international condemnation now could finally stop this sickening punishment. Let's join together today across the world to end this brutality. Sign the petition to save Sakineh and end stoning here:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_stoning/?vl

Executing women

2010-07-03T04:04:00.000-07:00

Ambassador Hambley was the first to raise this issue. Then Mehrtash, the famous Iranian blogger, raised the same matter. We will do what we can to follow it up. Mehertash writes:

Zeinab Jalalian: Based on her membership of a Kurdistan political party she was accused of Fighting God and was given the death penalty. Correction: to be hanged, not stoned.
Sakineh Mohammadi: To be stoned for having sexual relations with a man outside of wedlock - as they put it 'illicit relations'.

Mehrtash writes: Quite frankly, no 'breach of law' is deserving of death; let alone death by stoning. I suspect the world will sit idly by as two more defenseless women have their flames extinguished by the malicious cold of the IRI regime.
Mehrtash Rastegar LLB (Hons); LLM International Human Rights Law
http://www.seektruthandjustice.blogspot.com/

Radar - So What

2010-07-03T03:19:00.000-07:00

We get our knickers in a twist about all sorts of things in the West. But now we are uptight about nations having radar? Really for goodness sake.

Iran moves radar to Syria: US official
Agence France-Presse - 03 July, 2010
Iran has moved radar to Syria that could provide early-warning against a possible surprise Israeli air attack against Tehran’s nuclear sites, a US defense official said on Friday.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>> CLICK HERE

On go the US sanctions

2010-07-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

Well the USA has signed up to its own tougher sanctions regime to crush the people of Iran. They have even added refined petroleum products though everyone told them not to because it would hurt ordinary people and not the government and be grossly counter-productive. It seems Obama is a little short on wisdom these days:

Obama signs toughest-ever US sanctions on Iran - Agence France-Presse - 02 July, 2010

President Obama signed into law the toughest ever US sanctions on Iran, which he said would strike at Tehran’s capacity to finance its nuclear program and deepen its isolation.

>>>>>>>>>>>> CLICK HERE

American hubris

2010-06-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

So the sanctions are going to matter says the USA. Dream on. What will matter will be the incompetence of the IRGC as managers of the economy now that they own so much of it.

Gates sees potential in Iran economic sanctions:

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday that targeted economic sanctions on Iran had "real potential" to pressure Teheran to halt its nuclear program . . . .

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Iran looking lucky

2010-05-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

So Iran will have its way - as ever. Be happy world. That's the way it is: Iran expects a posistive reaction from the world regarding its nuclear fuel deal with Brazil and Turkey says Foreign Minister Moutaki. No wonder he looks self-satisfied.

A Nuke free Middle East? Reality or Illusion?

2010-05-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

The ongoing struggle to get Iran to halt is uranium enrichment has proved futile. Any future progress in dealing with Iran will depend on the success of bringing Israel to the “nuclear negotiating table”.

Egypt is leading the non-aligned nations to push for a conference next year on turning the Middle East into a nuclear free weapon region. This push is also supported by the Russians who want to help avoid a potential regional and global catastrophe. The Obama Administration has also positioned a non-proliferation regime at the centre of its foreign policy.

In 1995 a resolution was adopted to strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and to win Arab support for this initiative. Whilst America supported this proposal, it was never implemented.

Dialogue about the chances of achieving a nuke free Middle East is a hot topic nowadays. A precondition for Israel to accept a nuke free region is for regional peace to be established. Whilst this prospect is still a long way off, countries are united in their attempts to avoid any nuclear war within the region.

Discussions on Iran standoff

2010-05-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

Syria and Turkey are backing efforts to help their partner Iran avoid war. Well they would wouldn't they?

Syria and Qatar back Turkish efforts for a diplomatic solution to the row over Iranâ€™s nuclear programme, Turkey's foreign minister said after leaders of the three countries met yesterday, a report said . . . .

more >>>>>>>>>>>

Clinton gets tough

2010-03-23T03:40:00.000-07:00

Three sets of sanctions are not enough to deter Iran from becoming a nuclear armed country. A fourth could be imminent- but Iran still insists that its nuclear programme is to generate electricity.

American has announced that it is working on sanctions “that will bite” immediately and force Iran to disclose its atomic programme. Humanitarian considerations of Iranians have been taken into account. These new penalties will target leadership entities, such as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard- which plays a major role in the county’s politics and economics.

The ongoing belligerence of Iran towards the threat of sanctions against its nuclear programme has run its course. Patience in the West for Iran to “come clean” has all but disappeared and Iran will now have to face the harsh consequences of it not cooperating with the international community.

US wants sanctions on Iran to be tough.

Iran and Syria defy the West

2010-02-26T15:53:00.000-08:00

Well Ahmadinejad's vist to Damascus and the closer Iran-Syria ties really snub America. We are being played like fish and Syria is cock of the walk.

The presidents of Syria and Iran signed a visa-scrapping accord yesterday, signalling even closer ties and brushing aside US efforts to drive a wedge between the two allies.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Iran Sanctions

2010-02-21T16:24:00.000-08:00

A great piece by our sometime Senior Fellow Jonathon Paris. You might find it worth reading

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

2010-02-20T14:09:00.000-08:00

Well Iran has been doing everything it can to promote war in my view. It had a new US President ready to bend over backwards for peace - and Iran squandered the opportunity. Now it is posturing for war all the time. Sad really. Especially because Iran can't even see it. Iran thinks IRAN is the helpless victim:

Arab News - 20 February, 2010
From the deck of Iran’s new guided-missile destroyer, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized the United States’ military presence in the Gulf on Friday and said Washington was trying to frighten Iran’s Arab neighbors so it could sell them weapons.

>>>>>>>>>>>

Deadlines and posturing

2010-02-10T08:07:00.000-08:00

The West and Iran are posturing ahead of tomorrow's big demo. The US is saying it wants a UN sanctions resolution within weeks. Meanwhile:

Tomorrow (Thursday's) upcoming anniversary of the Iranian revolution will be a major test in the struggle between Ayatollah Khāmene’i and the opposition.

The government has issued a warning to the people not to come out onto the streets.

Mousavi has said it should be a "day of the public".

This is a face-off.

If there are major numbers then Khāmene’i is facing sustained opposition. A major demonstration on the anniversary of the revolution is almost insulting to Khāmene’i as it implies he has failed to carry forward the legacy of the Revolution.

If the numbers are small then the crack-down is working - people will give up and go underground and resort to secret meetings and sabotage.

The man to watch is Seyyed Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini (the son of Ahmad Khomeini, who was the Grand Ayatollah's youngest son and always very close to his father). He is annoyed with Ahmadinejad and has an uncomfortable relationship with the conservatives. If he comes out vocally or visibly in support of the Greens it will be a further problem for Khāmene’i (Hassan Khomeini has already been having meetings with them).

Playing games - the West and Iran

2010-02-07T10:55:00.000-08:00

Everyone seems to be playing games on this nuclear issue. But the end result may well be another Middle East war unless someone wises up soon. We need a sort of Mo Mowlam figure to beat their heads together.

Reuters - 07 February, 2010
The United States and Germany said on Saturday they saw no sign Tehran would make concessions on its nuclear programme, despite upbeat comments from Iran’s foreign minister over prospects for a deal. >>>>>>>>>>>

On Al Jazeera English after today's executions

2010-01-28T13:29:00.000-08:00

Potkin speaks on About today's obscene executions in Iran. To view click here

Iran blames US and Israel for assassination

2010-01-13T05:44:00.000-08:00

Iran is blaming the USA and Israel for that assassination. Chances are that it was Israel to be honest. Targeted assassination is, after all, a key Israeli policy.

Reuters - 13 January, 2010
A remote-controlled bomb killed a Tehran University nuclear scientist on Tuesday, state media reported, in an attack which Iran blamed on its two arch enemies, the United States and Israel.

Iran's Crack Down

2009-12-29T03:43:00.000-08:00

Unbelievable times in Iran. Can Ahmadinejad survive? There's a tipping point in these things and - given his unpopularity within the establishment itself - I would say NO. The man is doomed. But does that mean that the system is to be replaced? No. That I doubt.

Agence France-Presse - 29 December, 2009
Iranian security forces arrested more than a dozen dissidents Monday after at least eight people were killed in fierce clashes, opposition websites said, drawing international condemnation.Those detained included aides to reformist ex-president Mohammad Khatami and opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, veteran dissident Ebrahim Yazdi and award-winning rights campaigner Emadeddin Baghi, reports said.

Iran's Protests - Latest

2009-12-07T05:10:00.000-08:00

This comes in from Farid:

Washington DC - December 7, 2009 (RPS Staff) - Sounds of "Murderer Khamenei, his power is illegitimate" are reverberating in the Vali-Asr Square in Tehran.
According to the Iranian opposition, a procession of thousands of brave Tehranis, many of them young, marched to the Vali-Asr Square to the Students' junction and are shouting: "Murderer Khamenei, his power is illegitimate," "Death to Khamenei" and "Death to the dictator".
Security forces charged the demonstrators with their batons injuring many. Protests continue to grow in various parts of the capital. On Enghelab Square, the crowd shouted "Free political prisoners". Again, security forces attacked the protesters and gunfire rang out. Clashes are on-going at this time with the repressive regime forces. people attempted to close shops, but shopkeepers refused to leave their store and remain outside.
University of Tehran, security forces were checking identification and cell phones of young people. Some had their cell phones confiscated. Payphones near the university were covered with black plastic and are prohibited from use. Any communication in and out of the university is closely monitored.
In addition to visible security officers surrounding the university, there are also undercover agents who parked a large bus in front of the entrance gate to prevent people outside from seeing what was happening inside.

Internet Repression Extends to Iranians Abroad

2009-12-04T15:27:00.000-08:00

This from Phil Noble of Politics online:

While Iranians at home are being silenced online, according to a recent Wall Street Journal investigation, the Internet crackdown is extending to Iranians abroad as well. Iran's leadership is crossing national borders and targeting world-wide dissidents with harassment techniques created to silence their global critics. According to the Wall Street Journal, "dozens of individuals in the U.S. and Europe who criticized Iran on Facebook or Twitter said their relatives back in Iran were questioned or temporarily detained because of their postings...Five interviewees who traveled to Iran in recent months said they were forced by police at Tehran's airport to log in to their Facebook accounts." Several interviewees reported having their passports confiscated due to the harsh criticisms against the Iranian government regarding the handling of the presidential election in June that they had posted online. A German intelligence report indicates that Iranian intelligence operatives are monitoring about 900 critics of the Iranian regime in Germany and try to intimidate the protestors by videotaping them. Internet laws in Iran are purposely kept vague so that the regime can arrest people and bloggers for any reason. The suppressive president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad understands what a powerful tool the Internet is in disseminating information and seeks to harness the Net to spread his own message. Ahmadinejad is himself a blogger and is said to allot 15 minutes a week to writing on his blog, "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Personal Memo's".

Nuclear Games

2009-11-21T15:26:00.000-08:00

Well - the West has finaly caught on that Iran won't have anything to do with reprocessing overseas. Bloody obvious really. And now the UAE is jumping on the same bandwagon with the help of French nuclear proliferation.

Associated Press - 21 November, 2009
Representatives of six world powers urged Iran on Friday to accept a U.N. plan aimed at delaying its ability to build a nuclear weapon, as the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency warned Tehran not to miss the opportunity to resolve the dispute.

Karoubi is the Best

2009-10-23T16:49:00.000-07:00

Iran Bypasses the Latest Proposal

2009-10-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

Time and time again, the term “needed negotiation” has been tossed around within the UN. All representatives have repeatedly indicated their eagerness to participate in compromise. However up until this week’s events, the term “negotiation” had always been subject to mere phraseology. Verbal chivalry of all sides; nothing more and nothing less, that is all it has been up until this week’s meeting.

October 19^thwas the date in which the long awaited discourse took place. Iran agreed to the proposal offered in 2006 by the 6 world powers for negotiation in Vienna. It has taken us 4 years, and much international antagonistic correspondence, to finally witness the long awaited negotiations.

Interestingly this came after a much frustrated speech by the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. She stated that “the international community will not wait indefinitely for evidence that Iran is prepared to live up to its international obligations”. Enough has been enough, and the clock is ticking. In agreement with Mrs Clinton, the British Foreign Minister David Miliband urged that Iran must start to behave like a “normal country”.

Now what constitutes a normal country is debatable. Such terminology strongly implies the superiority of one state over the other. Denoting that the latter as inferior, irrational and possibly even insane. Undoubtedly such autocratic threats of suggested violence against Iran; by Mrs. Clinton; and the degrading of Iran’s credibility are certainly not offering any practical solutions to the issue at hand.

Nonetheless, with disregard to the international rivalry, a draft proposal was forwarded to Iran during the negotiating discourse. The deal put forward by the Atomic Energy Agency is for Iran to ship 70% of its uranium abroad for enrichment. This consequently eases Western fears about Iran’s potential to make nuclear weapons.

Today however, press releases reveal that Iran dodged the internationally approved proposal, and instead wished for the UN committee to review its own proposal on the issue. Details of Iran’s personal proposal are confidential up until now. Mohammad Reza Bahonar, Deputy Speaker of Iran's parliament said, "They [Western officials] tell us: you give us your 3.5 percent enriched uranium, and we will give you the fuel for the Tehran reactor. It is not acceptable to us."

Examining the cultural context of Iranian society, it is simply considered outrageously obnoxious for one to be told of how to conduct its national and international policy. Evidently, Iran is determined to reach a solution on its own grounds.

This is an Iranian issue, and hence an opportunity must be made for Iran to provide its own input. Iran demands autonomy and trust from the international nations. Passivity to international authority and threat is not an option that Iran is willing to take. Iran demands justice and a liberated, unrepressed say into the matter.

The attack on the Revolutionary Guard

2009-10-22T15:48:00.001-07:00

NCF Senior Fellow Jonathan Paris writes:

The terrorist attacks on October 18 killing dozens of Revolutionary Guardsmen, including seven top commanders, and several tribal leaders in Southeastern Iran are the latest episode of a three-fold challenge to the Regime. These attacks were followed two days later by the shooting of two Iranian police officers in Iranshahr in the same Sistan-Baluchistan province. The Iranian government has to cope not just with the revival of the minorities’ issue, but also with the international community’s pressures and with tensions within the elites that are preventing the Regime from reconsolidating its pre-June 12 election day legitimacy.

What about the possibility of any governmental retaliation against the Baluchi minority? The Revolutionary Guard underestimated the threat coming from Jundallah, a Baluchi Sunni group that has been responsible for several attacks against the Government and against Shia. While some Iranian Regime figures, including the leader of the Revolutionary Guard, are calling for retaliation against the US, UK and even Pakistan, a neighboring country with which Iran has had good relations for decades, an escalation by the Shia government against the Sunni Baluch would be unwise.

The border between Iran and Pakistan where the attack took place is very porous, and some Al Qaeda members or Taliban could easily become provoked to come over to join their oppressed Jundallah brothers. At this time, the Jundallah movement seems to be ‘homegrown’ and Teheran’s accusations of Pakistani involvement in Sunday’s attacks are easy to dismiss. Ironically, Teheran is accusing the Pakistan Army secret services (ISI) of supporting Jundallah, when in fact, Jundallah’s natural allies, Al Qaeda and the Taliban, are under attack by the Pakistan Army in nearby South Waziristan.

It is also easy to dismiss Regime accusations of United States and United Kingdom involvement in Jundallah’s activities, or in general with minorities in Iran. The tensions are a result of decades of mistreatment and underdevelopment. The Kurds, Turks, Arabs, Baluchis and others have been on the short end of the stick in terms of funds for education, health care, jobs and any government largesse. Let’s not forget as well that the Islamic Republic of Iran’s record on human rights, including the rights of minorities is dreadful.

What is most surprising is the failure of Iranian security services to protect leaders of the national and provincial Revolutionary Guard, who were struck down during Sunday’s attacks. Could this be an inside job, given the amount of information available following the purge in the Intelligence Ministry of over 10,000 workers considered unreliably loyal to the Regime?

Terrorism among minorities is only one of the problems the Regime faces from the people of Iran. The Green Movement in the streets of Teheran and other urban areas can erupt again at any moment, most likely, on the 30th anniversary of the takeover of the US Embassy on November 4th. Just as Al Quds or Jerusalem Day on September 18th was an excuse for the reformists to take to the streets against the Regime (with slogans attacking the Supreme Leader himself), the Regime is likely to encounter further street demonstrations and even workers strikes at any time. The Regime simply is not in control over the protest movement even if the balance of forces overwhelmingly favors the Regime.

While the Regime battles its minorities and urban demonstrators, it has to contend with two other issues: Rafsanjani, Mousavi, Karroubi, Khatami and other reformist or neo-reformist leaders refuse to buckle under President Ahmadinejad’s rule. Just as importantly, Ahmadinejad is having difficulty getting even the hard liners among Iranian ruling elites to support his appointments. At the same time, Ahmadinejad’s government is battling the international community, which is starting to coalesce on sanctions. It is hard to imagine the Regime being able to fight on all three fronts: the people, the elites and the international community, at the same time. Something has to give.

Jonathan Paris is also a London-based Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center.

The Arab World and the Iranian Nuclear File

2009-10-07T04:21:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Iskander at World Politics Review writes:

"The diplomatic effort to contain the Iranian nuclear program needs to be led by a truly international coalition, not just an American or Western one. The focus should be on altering the terms of the debate that currently allow Iran to actually benefit from external pressure, using it to further entrench and justify its defiant stance.

In order to do so, it is essential that the Arab world become engaged, publicly, in achieving a solution. Arab participation would not only be practically beneficial in bringing regional expertise and experience to the table, but also symbolically important. It would undermine the Iranian government's discourse that represents itself as the defender of Islam against Western aggression."

Ahmadinejad was born with a jewish surname

2009-10-05T04:41:00.000-07:00

The document reveals that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was previously known as Sabourjian – a jewish name meaning "cloth weaver".
The Sabourjians traditionally originate from Aradan , Mr Ahmadinejad’s birthplace, the name for the Jewish Tallit shawl in Persia. The name is even on the list of reserved names for Iranian Jews compiled by Iran’s Minister of the Interior.
“jian” ending to the name specifically showed the family had been Jews.
Mehdi Khazali, an internet blogger, is the son of Aytollah Khazali, a former member of the Guardian Council, who called for an investigation of Mr Ahmadinejad’s roots was arrested this summer.
Mehdi Khazali claimed that Ahmadinejad’s family name was changed from Sabourjian and his forefathers were Jewish converts into Islam.
Mr Ahmadinejad has regularly levelled harsh criticism at Israel, questioned its right to exist and denied the Holocaust. British diplomats walked out of a UN meeting last month after the Iranian president denounced Israeli’s 'genocide, barbarism and racism'.
In my opinion, that is an unverified gossip and it could be wrong.

ahmadinejad a

2009-10-05T04:36:00.000-07:00

Nuclear Free Mid East

2009-09-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

Well Iran has agreed to let the weapons inspectors in to look at its new nuclear site. Which it had to I guess. And which is anyway you look at it good.

Associated Press - 27 September, 2009
Iran said yesterday it will allow UN nuclear inspectors to examine its newly revealed, still unfinished uranium enrichment facility as world criticism mounted over the underground site that was developed secretly.

And good again is the fact that the Saudis are backing a nuclear free mid east. We just need mid east wide non-proliferation talks and we are going somewhere.

Kuwait News Agency - 27 September, 2009
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal on Saturday complained that departure from the principles of international legitimacy and the requirements of universal justice remains the root cause of the risks of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the Middle East, including the Gulf region.

Ahmadinejad's up to no good

2009-09-26T04:07:00.000-07:00

Iranian President said his country has complied with UN rules that require it to inform the IAEA six months before a uranium enrichment facility becomes operational....

But hey - what would they have ever said if those British spies had not spilt the beans. Truth is Iran wants nuclear power and nuclear weapons and once the Russians started down the proliferation route the consequences were inevitable.

Netanyahu Blasts Ahmadinejad at U.N.

2009-09-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a blistering attack on the floor of the United Nations Thursday on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Netanyahu held up original copies of minutes of the meeting of Nazi officials in 1942 where plans were made for the extermination of the Jews, as well as constructions plans of Nazi concentration camps at the UN general assembly as he condemned the Iranian leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “Are these protocols lies?” he asked, waving them in his hand.

“On Wednesday the president of Iran stood at this very podium and spewed his anti-Semitic rants,” he said. “Just a few days earlier he claimed that the Holocaust was a lie.” He then described how he had obtained the documents he held up before the assembly and described the Iranian leadership as primitive. The Iranian regime "is motivated by fanaticism". They want to see us go back to medieval times."

The Israeli prime minister saluted countries such as the US, Britain, France and Canada that had either boycotted Ahmadinejad's speech or walked out during it, and denounced those who had stayed. "Have you no shame? Have you no decency?" he shouted. "What a disgrace. What a mockery of the UN charter."

Back to university

2009-09-24T09:41:00.000-07:00

Kamran Dneshjou, who was appointed as Science Minister earlier this month, delivered a statement regarding to reopening universities in Iran.

He emphasised to all student and professors needs to come to the stage "as commanders and young officers in this bloodless battle to defence our National Interest".

Protesters Transform The Qods Day into Iran Day

2009-09-24T06:44:00.000-07:00

In recent years, Al-Qods ("Jerusalem") Day has been used by the Iranian regime as a means of publically projecting its power. This year however, the event turned into a widespread demonstration of popular discontent.

In his Al-Qods sermon at Friday prayers in Tehran, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami called on the judiciary to "punish leading rioters firmly and without showing any mercy to teach everyone a lesson". He said those leaders were backed by the United States and Israel. In a clear warning to all other dissenters, he declared: "Anybody who fights against the Islamic system or the leader of Islamic society, fight him until complete destruction. People, who wage war against God, deserve execution".

The slogans shouted by the crowds reflect the deep fault-lines growing in Iranian society. While the baseeji intone 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel' the audience answer 'Down with Russia'. The baseeji shouts of 'Death to the anti-Supreme Leader' are answered by those 'Death to the Dictator'

The placards held by the green movement supporter says 'The Oil money is missing; it has been spent on Palestine".

Outside the state broadcasting, people shout "State Broadcasting is a dishonour".

"Not Gaza, not Lebanon. I die only for Iran," protesters have reportedly chanted in significant numbers across Tehran, Esfahan, Shiraz and other major cities across Iran.

An image going around the Internet shows a protester holding a poster of the iconic Palestinian caricature Handala wearing a long green scarf with the words "Palestine is right here."

After supporters of Iran's opposition movement marched on the Qods Day commemorative rally, police say several arrests have been made.

Despite official orders to avoid illegal gatherings, supporters of leading opposition figures Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi used the opportunity given by Al-Qods Day to take to the streets on Friday.

The demonstrators chanted slogans in support of Mousavi and Karroubi, who were present in person among the crowd.

"Police arrested them before they could set fire to motorbikes or cause damage to public property," said an official, without giving any number for those arrested.

Internet users have linked to websites that inform protesters how to treat wounds and conduct first aid. Protesters themselves have sometimes obscured their faces to avoid later problems of being tracked down by security forces who have reportedly taunted and threatened families even after the protests through studying images taken at the rallies.

The Alqods march-A nightmare for Iranian regime

2009-09-17T05:04:00.000-07:00

Qhods Day (Rooze Ghods) was established by Khomeini and is the last Friday of every Ramadan, where demonstrations are organized for the “Palestinian Cause.”

The annual Al-qods march (which will take place this Friday 18th September) is a publicity feat by the Islamic Republic to rally support and credibility for the regime by exploiting the Palestine issue. Because protests have been held on that day every year, no permit is required and it is a great opportunity for people to come out and protest. Iranian people are going to be taking advantage of this occasion and they are planning nationwide anti regime protests on that day.

In his speech during the last Friday prayer Khamenei warned the Iranian people that unrest on Ghods day would not be tolerated and that anyone involved in unrest will be dealt with harshly. It doesn’t seem like the threats have been effective, as Iranian people are continuing to organize the nationwide protests against the Regime on that day.

UAE kept tight lid on disrupted terror plot

2009-09-17T04:45:00.000-07:00

By Eli Lake and Sara Carter THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year quietly broke up a major terrorist ring affiliated with al Qaeda that had plotted to blow up targets in Dubai - a banking hub that has long seemed immune to attacks by the terrorist group.
The disruption in May of the previously undisclosed plot came at a sensitive time for the UAE, which months earlier concluded an agreement with the United States that would allow the U.S. to sell it nuclear reactor technology and nuclear fuel. Congress has until Oct. 17 to block the agreement, which has been viewed with concern by some nonproliferation groups.
Three U.S. intelligence officials and one former senior U.S. government official confirmed that the terrorist scheme originated in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), a relatively poor member of the seven-emirate country.
According to these officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the incident, UAE authorities found evidence that the terrorists had conducted video surveillance of targets in Dubai including Dubai Towers, which will be the tallest building in the world when it is completed in December. The officials also said the plotters had designated suicide bombers for the operations, but had not yet made so-called martyrdom videos.
Juan Zarate, a former deputy national security adviser in the George W. Bush administration, called the arrests a "significant ... disruption. It demonstrates al Qaeda's presence and perhaps even ill intent in the Emirates, but also signals strong cooperation from the Emirati authorities."
In the past, al Qaeda has not targeted Dubai in part because wealthy Arabs there have been a source of funding for the organization. Two of the 19 hijackers who carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States were from the UAE.
A spokeswoman for the UAE Embassy in Washington said the embassy "doesn't comment on internal security matters." But the disclosure threatens to embarrass the UAE as it seeks Congressional approval for a nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States.
The crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed, was in Washington earlier this month to lobby for legislative approval of the deal, which is expected to come before Congress in mid-October. Several lawmakers are expressing concerns about the UAEs export laws and the fear of weapons proliferation to Iran.
The deal, which was signed at the end of President Bushs second term, will go ahead if Congress decides to do nothing. It will allow U.S. firms to sell nuclear fuel and technologies to the UAE. The Emirates has agreed to buy nuclear fuel from the world market - possibly including the U.S. - but has promised not to develop its own uranium enrichment capability or reprocess spent nuclear fuel.
The UAE Embassy spokeswoman, who asked not to be named because only the ambassador is permitted to be quoted on the record, pointed out that the chief of police in Dubai denied a story this week in the Israeli press alleging that the Iranian government was behind the latest plot.
The intelligence officials who spoke to The Washington Times said a former minister of public lands for RAK, Muhammad Ali al-Mansuri, was arrested in connection with the investigation.
An Irish-based human rights group, Frontline Protection of Human Rights Defenders, confirmed on its Web site the arrest of Mr. al-Mansuri, whom it described as a human rights lawyer. It said he was arrested June 7 at 5 a.m. by RAK authorities and handed over to authorities in Abu Dhabi. Mr. al-Mansuri, who is a member of the RAK royal family by marriage, was released on bail at 2:30 p.m. the same day, the group said, but has had his travel limited and is thought to have been rearrested. An e-mail to Mr. al-Mansuri was not returned.
"Frontline believes that Dr. Mohammed al-Mansuri is being targeted because of his peaceful and legitimate activities in defense of human rights, in particular his work in relation to civil and political rights, including freedom of the press," said an appeal from the group, whose board of trustees includes U2 lead singer Bono.
Present and former U.S. officials described the plan to target the towers and several other high profile locations in the country as a significant shift in how al Qaeda operates in the Emirates.
"Dubai, given where it is, has generally been more open as a society [than other Middle Eastern countries]," Mr. Zarate said. "Some would argue that Dubai has been more lax and in terms of travel and banking, they are stuck with dealing with more bad actors than their neighbors might be. Nonetheless, cooperation [on counterterrorism] has been very good."
Mr. Zarate added, "I also would not downplay the reality that for the sake of tourism and reputation, there is no desire on the part of any country to signal they are worried about a threat unnecessarily and that they are a target-rich environment."
Kenneth Katzman, a senior Middle East analyst at the Congressional Research Service, said: "It is widely believed that the UAE government was turning a blind eye to the presence of some al Qaeda activity in the UAE, with the implicit promise that no terrorist attacks would take place there. This [arrest] is significant because it shows the UAE's belief that it could prevent terrorist attacks this way was naive."
Nonetheless, Emiratis have also been helpful to the U.S. in the battle against al Qaeda. In November 2002, UAE authorities handed over to the U.S. Abd Rahim al-Nashiri, a senior al Qaeda leader who is regarded as the mastermind of the bombing in Yemen in 2000 of the USS Cole. Al-Nashiri is one of three al Qaeda leaders the CIA has acknowledged to have waterboarded during questioning.
According to a May 2002 letter from al Qaeda leaders that was declassified in 2006 by the Combatting Terrorism Center at West Point, N.Y., the royal families in Dubai and Abu Dhabi were explicitly threatened with attacks if their cooperation with the United States against al Qaeda continued.

How an Attempted Terror Attack Against World’s Tallest Tower was Averted

2009-09-17T04:02:00.000-07:00

Ma’ariv (p. 10) by Jacky Hugi -- It was supposed to be the September 11 of the Arabs, but luck was with the intended victims: the security services of the United Arab Emirates succeeded in foiling a plot to blow up the tallest building in the world, the Dubai Tower, which was concocted, it is suspected, in Tehran. So far eight suspects have been arrested, all of whom hold various Arab citizenships, and the Abu Dhabi government has imposed a full blackout on the affair and refuses to divulge any details.
Information recently obtained by Ma’ariv from Arab sources reveals, for the first time, the details of the mega-terror attack from the school of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. The details show that the members of the ring that were caught had a large quantity, a few tons, of explosives, bomb belts ready to be activated and a large quantity of automatic rifles that were sent by plane from Iran. In addition, the group plotted to attack an army base on EUA soil.
The Dubai Tower skyscraper is to be officially dedicated at a ceremony on December 2, 2009, after six years of construction. […]
According to information that has reached Ma’ariv, the plot was discovered two months ago in wake of the arrest of eight suspects. Some were caught in Ras al-Khaimah, one of the six emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates. The others were arrested in the port city of Kawr Fakkan in the Sharjah emirate. They were interrogated thoroughly, and it turned out that the group had close ties with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Of the eight, three were UAE citizens,, and the rest Sudanese and Palestinians. The three locals are Abed el-Latif Mohammed, Abdullah Sibluah and Jassem el-Sweidi. All are being held in Abu Dhabi prison, the capital of the United Arab Emirates and are being questioned.
The Ras al-Khaimah emirate, where the ring carried out most of its activity, had close ties with Tehran, unlike the policy of the main administration, which has a chilly relationship with the Iranians. […]
The UAE government became aware that an Iranian base was being established in the Ras al-Khaimah emirate under its sovereignty. There are direct flights between Iran and the emirate three times a week, in light planes. The planes enjoy immunity and their contents are not checked. The security services began to pay special attention to traffic to and from Iran. That’s how they found that the eight suspects were in close contact with militants in Tehran and with Iranian citizens living in the country, and put them under surveillance.
In mid July the UAE security services discovered that the light planes from Iran were bringing explosives and weapons in large quantities. They discovered that the destination of the shipment was the eight suspects, and then made the arrests. The investigation into the affair continues, and there may be more arrests. The intelligence services are focusing their investigation on the involvement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, but are also examining the possibility that al-Qaida or extremist organizations in Saudi Arabia were behind the plan. […]

Why U.S.-Iran Talks Are Good for Israel

2009-09-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

By Meir Javedanfar

Since taking office, U.S. President Barack Obama has on several occasions tried to reach out to the Iranian government in order to start negotiations between the two sides. To Washington, the primary goal of such dialogue would be to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis surrounding Iran's nuclear program. Other regional matters, such as Afghanistan and Iraq, remain secondary to this primary concern.
The Iranian government realizes the importance of its nuclear program to Washington. The concern in Tehran is that talks may lead to compromises in this all important area. Not wishing to give up what it sees as insurance for its survival, the Iranian government has ruled out talks of halting its uranium enrichment as part of talks with the U.S.
Instead, Iran has offered its own proposal for talks, which amongst other items calls for "complete disarmament of the existing nuclear weapons," "reform of the UN and the Security Council", while seeking "reforms in the UN on the basis of principles of democracy and justice." Iran also proposes to discuss what it sees as important issues such as the environment, and combating underground economy and corruption around the world.
Despite Iran's unwillingness to discuss the nuclear issue, Washington still seems to be interested in talking to Iran.
This reaction has left more than a few Israeli officials baffled. Some even feel insulted. In an interview with the Haaretz newspaper, a senior official in Jerusalem said that with its response "Iran has spat in the face of the United States and the world."
When it comes to feeling bewildered by Iran's response, Israel is not alone. There are some Iranians who are also baffled.
In its editorial, the Tabnak news analysis website - which is run by Mohsen Rezai, former head of the Revolutionary Guards - says that the proposal has the religious tone of letters sent to various world officials by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Therefore, some might say, these recent proposals should thus remain as one of President Ahmadinejad's letters and without the fanfare which the government created in its handover ceremony to the EU ambassadors in Tehran. The editorial goes on to criticize the government's suggested proposals. The Majles Center for Research, reports Tabnak, had deemed the proposition calling for the reform of the UN and the Security Council as "void of expertise." In fact, the Center had initially asked that this suggestion not to be included in the negotiations package at all. However, the government ignored this call and went ahead with its inclusion.
For now, it seems as though Jerusalem's hope that Iran would talk about its nuclear program was based on the 2003 grand bargain from Tehran, which had offered negotiations on this thorny issue, as well as Iran's support for groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. The new Iranian offer falls much shorter.
Israeli decision makers may now ask: under the current circumstances, wouldn't a U.S.-Iran dialogue give Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei more time to achieve his nuclear aspirations? Why should the U.S. talk with the Iranians? And why should Israel back America's decision to engage Iran?
The sense of concern in Jerusalem is understandable. However, the Israeli leadership should also note that the current crisis has provided Israel with an invaluable opportunity. Direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran could deepen the crisis in the current Iranian administration, since there are many in Iran who opposed such talks.
In fact, it is possible the exact reasoning behind such a convoluted and "void of expertise" proposal was solely intended to deter America from talking to Iran at all.
Therefore, by agreeing to talk, President Obama has called Ayatollah Khamenei's bluff. It is the Iranian regime that could come out the worst from these talks. After all, how can Iran talk about corruption and the environment, when its own government is one of the worst offenders? If anything, publicly discussing such matters with the Iranian government could damage its image further, thus making its isolation less problematic.
On top of this, refusal to discuss the nuclear program will make it much easier to impose tougher sanctions. This may even include Russia. Despite recent statements from Moscow, Jerusalem should not overlook Russia's non-objection to the decision not to invite Tehran to the recent Caspian Sea summit in Kazakhstan. As far as some Iranians are concerned, this was a slap in the face from a usually friendly ally.
While Israel should be prepared for any military threat from Iran, be it direct or from surrogate groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, when it comes to talks between Iran and the U.S., Israel should welcome them. To the conservatives in Iran, Obama's is the bear hug that could kill. Meanwhile, Ali Khamenei acting on his own free will is doing a much better job of damaging his regime from within and without, and in front of the whole world. So for now, instead of worrying, Israel should try to find some time to enjoy the show.

Dealing with the Mid East Arms Race

2009-09-16T03:43:00.000-07:00

The Kuwaitis are the latest to join the Iran-inspired race for a Mid East bristling with nuclear power and (a few years down the line) nuclear weapons. All climb aboard the roller coaster for Armageddon. At least Kuwait is buying into the idea of some sort of Mid East disarmament agenda - an idea we have been pushing ourselves. Meanwhile Iran plays the West like an angler playing with fish:

Kuwait latest: Kuwait News Agency - 16 September, 2009
Kuwait called on Tuesday for clearing the Middle East from all weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and nuclear arms, and said regional countries have the right to obtain nuclear technology for peaceful means.

Iran latest: Reuters - 16 September, 2009
Iran yesterday held out the prospect of "deeper cooperation" with the UN nuclear watchdog as it gears up for talks with world powers that are likely to be held in Turkey.

Futile Nuclear talks - again - and again - and again

2009-09-15T08:12:00.000-07:00

So - Iran sent its letters to the P5 + 1 and the worlds superpowers have come to heal and agreed to everything Iran wanted. And then they spin it to pretend that it is Iran who has agreed to what the West requested ! ! ! What children our leaders are. So governed by hubris as ever.

Iran agreed on Monday to hold talks with six world powers next month on its latest proposals to allay concerns over its nuclear programme, in a move Washington welcomed as an "important first step."

Supreme Leader Delivers a Stark Warning at Friday Prayers in Tehran

2009-09-12T04:22:00.000-07:00

When Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, addressed the Iranian people at Tehran Friday prayers in July following the disputed presidential elections of 12th June, his warning to protesters was quickly realised in a fierce crackdown. Using the Baseej (a volunteer-based "people's army"), demonstrations were crushed with brutal force.

In the weeks that followed, the world witnessed mass arrests of demonstrators and show trials; all aimed at stifling the opposition movement that rose up in the wake of Ahmadinejad's reinstallment as President. Accusations of continued arrests and the torture and rape of the prisoners have resounded across global media platforms.

In his sermon yesterday, Khamenei reiterated his warning to protesters, “Those who clash with the establishment and turn their backs on the Islamic establishment become enemies.” This has raised fears that the opposition face another surge in the crackdown against them. Despite such fears, opposition activists have been disseminating recordings of the nightly "Allah-o Akbar" chants, which they claim have only increased in volume in reaction to the Supreme Leader's sermon.

Why did Khamenei choose yesterday to lead Friday prayers once more? He is clearly concerned that there will be renewed protests planned to coincide with al-Qods day. In Iran, this is a national day that falls on the last Friday of Ramadan (this year on 18th September) and in Europe on the last Sunday of Ramadan (this year on13th September). In his sermon, Khamenei urged Iranian youth to celebrate al-Qods day and warned against using the occasion to create further divisions in Iranian society by renewing protests. He said that al-Qods Day must focus on its core issue, which is the Palestinian issue.

It should also be noted that we are now in the run up to the new academic year and therefore it is vital that the Supreme Leader has a tight grip on the Iranian street before the universities reopen. Universities are traditionally a key site of political and social dissent in Iran and students have been key targets in raids and arrests since the dissent over the election results brought demonstrators out onto the streets. Reports on 4th September said that reformist student leaders were arrested in Mashhad. Such continued arrests, raids and threats perhaps give a hint of what can be expected in the lead up to the reopening of the universities.

In yesterday's sermon, Khamenei went on to say, "a harsh answer awaits anyone who dares to draw a sword against the Islamic Republic." It seems that Mehdi Karroubi, the most radical of the reformist opposition leaders, may be particular target of this warning. There are suggestions that the Supreme Leader has ordered his arrest. Again, this is probably linked to his popularity among students, which could strengthen his position when the new academic year begins.

Clearly, the Supreme Leader's statements have raised fears of further violence. He has explicitly indicated that he considers such violence to be justifiable in defending the Iranian establishment as the legitimate government of Iran. Unfortunately he cannot see that having broken the social contract between the government and the citizens the establishment has been divested of its legitimacy. If an establishment has to beat its people into submission it becomes a dictatorship rather than a government.

Proof of sexual abuse of the demonstration protestors

2009-09-01T04:17:00.000-07:00

Last week an Iranian MP revealed there is proof of the sexual abuse of protestors following June´s elections, confirming what many of us have thought and backing up the claims of Mehdi Karroubi.

It was no surprise when the Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reprimanded opposition leaders for calling attention to the alleged abuses of detainees.

It will be interesting to see whether there is enough demand for this to develop into a full enquiry. If so, the findings could have far reaching effects for both the Iranian prison system and the ruling government.

Rafsanjani gets Frightened

2009-08-24T05:09:00.000-07:00

Rafsanjani was never the most courageous of men. He was fairly feeble at Friday prayers in so much as his backing for Mousavi did not extend as far as to calling outright for new elections.

Sixty of the eighty odd conservative clerics on the Council of Experts slammed him for failing to support the Supreme Leader and in response he has now gone the whole hog and bought the Supreme Leader's agenda, hook, line and sinker.

Sad really. Is the opposition doomed?

Ahmadinejad is having trouble with his women

2009-08-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

It seems Ahmadinejad is having trouble getting his three female nominees for ministerial posts approved by parliament. Which is a sad reflection on today's Iran. He's also going to have trouble with his nominee for oil minister, who is one of his cronies.

The other controversial figure in Ahmadinejad's proposed cabinet is the former deputy defence minister whom Ahmadinejad proposes to make Defence Minister. This is a creepy guy indicted in Argentina for the mass murder of 85 people in the synagogue bombing. Really nasty.

The US winges whyen you're good

2009-08-22T03:49:00.000-07:00

The USA is a pain in the neck sometimes. To winge away at Iran when she's bad (which admittedly is fair enough) is one thing. But to whine and winge like a six year old when Iran starts to behave herself a little is just plain stupid. The International Atomic Energy Commission reports next week. Perhaps they will behave with greater dignity.

Reuters - 22 August, 2009
Iran is still not fulfilling obligations related to its nuclear activities, despite allowing UN inspectors to visit a reactor and upgraded monitoring at a uranium enrichment plant, a US official said on Friday.

Ahmadinejad's VP pick walks away

2009-07-20T08:07:00.000-07:00

The only nice guy on Ahmadinejad's team has quit. Pathetic really.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's choice as first vice president, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, has walked away from the job.

STOP THE PRESS:

No its not true. He has denied that he has resigned. http://www.mashaei.ir/

Beating the drums of war

2009-07-16T15:21:00.000-07:00

I notice various things going on including the USA giving mixed messages then Israeli warships heading into the Red Sea. Then this

http://www.gulfinthemedia.com/index.php?id=479744&news_type=Top&lang=en

Is the ground being prepared for war? Surely not. Does Germany truly believe this?

Iran goes for Facebook

2009-07-14T07:15:00.000-07:00

The Iranian secret police have wised up to the fact that they can use facebook to check details of Iran expat activities. Time for us to wise up too really.

A trusted colleague - who is married to an Iranian-American and would thus prefer to stay anonymous - has told me of a very disturbing episode that happened to her friend, another Iranian-American, as she was flying to Iran last week. On passing through the immigration control at the airport in Tehran, she was asked by the officers if she has a Facebook account

US Give Israel “OK” to Strike Iran

2009-07-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

A statement by US Vice President Joe Biden to the ABC’s “This Week” programme on July 6th appeared to offer American backing in the event Israel should launch a strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. Biden, when asked whether the US would be prepared to use their control over Iraqi airspace to prevent such a strike, replied that it would not be possible for them to dictate to another sovereign country. Biden also remarked that the US would not bow to any interests other than its own in reaching a decision on the issue.

Biden’s statement follows a Sunday Times report which suggested that Arab governments whose airspace lay in the path of a potential Israeli strike may tacitly allow it to take place.

It is difficult to determine whether this claim has any substance. Although Israeli defence sources were quoted as claiming that Mossad had “working relations” with their Saudi counterparts over the issue, both Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office and the Saudi government have issued strong denials. The Iraqi government has gone further; the Parliamentary Committee on Security and Defence stating that any Israeli breach of Iraqi airspace would be treated as an attack. What any of these countries could achieve in practice should they attempt to obstruct a strike is uncertain – An Israeli strike against a suspected Syrian nuclear facility last year suffered no casualties despite supposedly strong Syrian air defences.

Election violence outrages Obama

2009-06-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

President Obama has made more statements in support of the Iranian people in their struggle against the imposition of dictatorship in Iran and an end to democracy. It is great that the US President continues to draw a distinction between the Iranian people and the Iranian government.

Ahmadinejad demands apology

2009-06-26T08:22:00.000-07:00

Ahmadinejad, the pretender to the throne in Tehran, given the fact that he is establishing a dictatorship now following his succesful (?) coup d'etat against the elected President Mousavi, has demanded the US apologise for their critical remarks before he talks to them. God save us from yet more hubris. The reality is that he doesn't care of course - being a millenialist.

The untimely murder of an innocent

2009-06-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

This harrowing footage of a young woman's death is as absolute an idictment of the crimes of the Supreme Leader of Iran as anyone could produce. Potkin supplied this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSaie_ss4z8

Election Fever

2009-06-17T07:59:00.000-07:00

The Iran elections have left the country and its fragile democracy at crisis point. What we need now is a second round of voting or a rerun of the first one not a mere recount. Here is a link to a petition on the issue: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/iran_vote_truth/

Iran's blagging about nothing

2009-05-21T03:48:00.000-07:00

Iran has just launched a missile with a 1,200 mile range capable of hitting Israel. So? They already had missiles in their Shihab series capable of hitting Israel. What's new? I'll tell you what's new - they have an election on for President and Ahmadinejad needs to show himself the tough guy in order to garner votes. That's all this is about. And the West is playing his game behaving like some nervous aunt.

The missiles themselves? They've been there for years.

US to reassure Arabs

2009-05-04T04:56:00.000-07:00

Gates is trying to reassure the Arab World following the disasterous mistakes the USA has made in recent months in regard to Foreign Policy vis a vis Iran. Iran has run rings around the States - mostly because the USA has appointed an uninfluential doltish softy as their man on Iran and Pakistan who is getting wrongfooted at every turn.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday he will seek to reassure Saudi and Egyptian leaders this week that Washington’s diplomatic approach to Iran will not jeopardize long-standing ties to Arab states in the region.

Three Islands Mess

2009-05-02T09:12:00.000-07:00

Iran is getting its knickers in a twist over the Three Islands again. To be honest - if they did not behave like such nazis on Abu Mussa, abrogating the whole place to themselves and stopping the reconstruction of the port in the South, and generally dishonoring their own agreements, things might be a lot better:

Tehran Times - 02 May, 2009
Tehran on Thursday lamented a joint EU-GCC statement on the three Iranian islands of Abu Musa, Lesser Tunb and Greater Tunb, calling it an infringement on Iran’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty and insisted that the islands belong to Iran for good.

The European Union and Gulf Cooperation Council issued a statement on Wednesday at their 19th Joint Ministerial Meeting in Muscat, expressing concern over a lack of progress towards resolving the dispute between the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic Republic of Iran over the three islands. The Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said Iran and the UAE can resolve minor misunderstandings over Abu Musa Island through dialogue.

Bring on the clowns

2009-04-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

The guys who protested at Ahmadinejad's speech dressed as clowns and had the right idea. Would have been better if the others present had not walked out but instead exposed Ahmadinejad's puerillity with strong condemnatory speeches in regard to Iran's record on racism and its treatment of minorities like the Bahai.

The three "clowns" who interrupted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech in Geneva on Monday were Rafael Haddad, Jonathan Hayoun and Jeremy Cohen, three Jewish French students from L'Union des Etudiants Juifs de France (UFJ), the union of Jewish French students.

Iran getting stropy about the islands

2009-04-21T04:13:00.000-07:00

Iran has started kicking up a stink about the "Three Islands". The territory it invaded in the Gulf the day before the UK pulled out East of Suez. Iran claims the deal was that they gave up Bahrain in return for being "permitted" to invade the three islands (UAE territory). Now of course - Iran being Iran - they want everything: Bahrian and the three islands.

GCC Secretary General Attiya has been trying to attempt playing hardball.

Afghanistan Conference Brings the US and Iran Face-To-Face

2009-04-01T06:26:00.000-07:00

The beginning of a new era in US and Iranian relations started in The Hague’s International Conference on Afghanistan on the 31st of March 2009 which was hosted by the Dutch government and sponsored by the United Nations. This was the first official political communication between the two States for almost three decades, since the Iranian revolution in 1979.

Building on the achievements of previous Conferences in Bonn, London and Paris, this Conference should reaffirm the solid and long-term commitment of the international community to supporting the Government of Afghanistan in shaping security and a better future for Afghanistan and its people.

The US’s presidential envoy Richard C. Holbrooke and the Iranian deputy foreign minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhondzadeh, encountered each other on the sidelines of the conference. Although brief, the meeting between the two diplomats is evidence that the Obama Administration is taking unprecedented steps towards building a bridge with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Iranian deputy foreign minister made clear that Iran was prepared to aid in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and to cooperate in regional efforts to crack down on the booming Afghan drug trade, which is spilling across the Iranian border.

The questions of border security, and in particular the transit of narcotics across the border from Afghanistan to Iran is common interest to both countries.

Iran cooperated with the United States on Afghanistan in the days after the 2001 terrorist attacks, and administration officials still view it as one of the most promising avenues for reconciliation between the two distant countries.

It was reported by the U.S Secretary of State Mrs. Hilary Clinton, that the United States handed the Iranian delegation a letter requesting its intercession in the cases of two American citizens who are being held in Iran and another who is missing.

Robert Levinson, 59, who had gone to Kish, a resort island off the southern coast of Iran, to investigate cigarette counterfeiting for a private company had gone missing.

Roxana Saberi, 31, who has worked as a freelancer in Iran for six years, was arrested Jan. 31 by the Iranian authorities after buying a bottle of wine.

Esha Momeni, an Iranian- American graduate student, was in Iran to visit relatives and do research on women's rights when she was arrested on Oct. 15 while driving in Tehran.

These two American contacts with Iran are another step in the Obama administration’s policy of engagement. It is a tentative process, in which the White House makes symbolic gestures, like President Obam's recent video greeting to the Iranian people and government for their New Year, while continuing to formulate its longer-term strategy.

Tehran criticizes Obama speech

2009-03-28T07:05:00.000-07:00

Now Rafsanjani has joined the chorus of ungrateful pathetic snide Iranian government figures that have belittled Obama's gesture of friendship. He describes it as "another fake media facade which had no intentions to change anything in the world." I become more and more convinced that the Iranian government is so very entrenched in hypocricy that nothing can save it.

AIP demands that Iran not infringe on Bahrain's sovereignty

2009-03-24T07:41:00.000-07:00

Iran’s tendency for apocalyptic inclinations and provocative politics are well established inspiring considerable global commentary as well as continual relabeling with whatever happens to be the ‘word of the moment’ for rogue, uncooperative and general nuisance state. Although there are several Iranian issues that receive consistent disapproval from global power players, the assumptions of its Imperial ambitions, its nostalgia for past days of Empire and its alleged blue prints for reviving them have recently caused a backlash among its Arab neighbours.

A ‘minor’ diplomatic hiccup has again developed this last week between Iran and Bahrain, the result of a statement by a speaker of Iranian parliament, Ali Akber Natey Nouri, in which he stated that under the Shah ‘Bahrain was our 14th province and had a representative in parliament’. Such territorial claims by individuals in the public eye are not unusual, two years previously the editor of hard-line Iranian newspaper Kayhan, and one of Khameini advisors made similar statements in an editorial, although this is not the official position of the government itself. Such outburst however will do no more than increasingly drive a wedge between Iran and its neighbours and a popularity vote implies that it’s not in a position to lose many more friends.

During Sundays Arab Interim Parliament (AIP) session, in light of these inflammatory comments, representatives from various Arab states demanded that Iranian officials respect the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and refrain from making provocative statements regarding Bahrain’s place in the Persian Empire. Socio-politically, the claim that there is a link between Sunni ruled Bahrain and Shia Iran is a volatile one; the little Island is ruled by a Sunni Monarchy but populated by a Shia majority. Iran, who postulates itself as the heart and soul of Shi’itism and has a reputation for meddling with Shia populations, is causing unrest among its neighbours who worry it is laying the foundations for a revolt. Direct relations between Bahrain and Iran are being strained to breaking point with Bahrain feeling Iran is not only trying to undermine its Arabic identity but is questioning the legitimacy of its ruling body. Economically, the ramifications of these claims by Iranian officials have been a cessation in the negotiations with Iran on a natural gas import deal. Arab governments have been clear in their support standing firmly beside Bahrain and additionally back UAE accusations concerning Iran’s annexation of three of its Islands; the Kuwaiti cabinet spelling out its position on Monday in a statement condemning such claims and noting that they, although unofficial, hinder sincere efforts by the GCC in its desire to establish a relationship of friendship and cooperation with Iran.

Iran however was quick to react to accusations of its alleged expansion plans to Bahrain showing that officially it has no interest in inflaming the crisis. The government released a statement to Arabic TV channels in an attempt to placate the situation by clarifying that it has no territorial ambitions in Bahrain. The issue of the islands of Abu Musa and Lesser Tunb and Greater Tunb however continues to hang in the balance as demands by Arab representatives for a good will gesture and assurance of Iran’s proposed desire to strengthen regional relations by withdrawing from the occupied islands remains to be realised.

See full article here

King Abdullah, Mottaki discuss bilateral ties

2009-03-16T15:50:00.001-07:00

The Saudis and the Iranians are getting ready for Doha:

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah held wide-ranging talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who made an unannounced visit to Riyadh yesterday. “The consultations covered a range of topics, especially focusing on the need to boost Saudi-Iran relations,” said a diplomatic source. “The visit of the Iranian foreign minister is extremely important keeping in view the current regional situation and the forthcoming Doha summit.”

Covert Israeli actions

2009-02-18T03:37:00.000-08:00

Our good friend Meir Javadanfar and others claim Israel is busy with covert activities inside Iran.
1. Chances Israel has an effective covert program within Iran are remote (going on past performance).
2. This kind of article can result in oppression for Iran's substantial Jewish community and is therefore most unhelpful.

TO VIEW STORY CLICK HERE

Iran defiant on nuclear plan

2009-02-03T13:50:00.000-08:00

Iran has offered the West Suspension for Suspension - a cash for cash deal rather than "freeze for freeze". I don't know why the West don't call their bluff and take up the offer.

Khaleej Times - 03 February, 2009
Iran remained defiant over its nuclear programme on Monday as representatives of six major powers prepare to meet in Germany this week to look at ways of persuading it to curb its atomic ambitions.The unyielding comments from parliament speaker Ali Larijani, a former lead negotiatior on the nuclear issue, came despite overtures from the new US administration of President Barack Obama, who has offered Iran an extended hand of diplomacy if its leaders "unclenched their fist."

Iran ready to cooperate with Obama

2009-01-30T14:31:00.000-08:00

NOW IRAN IS TRYING TO MAK UP FOR THEIR PRESIDENT'S BAD BEHAVIOUR

The Peninsula - 30 January, 2009
Iran is ready to cooperate with President Barack Obama if the United States changes its policies and practices in the region, Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchechr Mottaki said yesterday.

TO VIEW ITEM CLICK HERE

Bombing Iran is back as an option

2009-01-29T09:23:00.000-08:00

It seems Ahmadinejad's bad manners have wound up the new administration and got them talking tough. They're back into flagging up bombing Iran as an option according to US Chief of Staff, Mullen. Two steps forward and one step back as ever.

TO VIEW STORY CLICK HERE

Bloggers Targeted Again

2008-11-21T08:02:00.000-08:00

Iranian 'Blogfather' Hossein Derakhshan has been arrested on the charge of spying for Israel. This is just one more example of the fear that bloggers are able to instill in governments that have been used to being able to control and restrict the information reaching its public. New develepments in electronic media make it more and more difficult to limit the sharing of knowledge within a nation and between peoples globally. This breaks down the state monopoly on knowledge and the power that this affords them.

Hossein Derakhshan was based in London after spending several years in Canada and had returned to live in Iran a few weeks ago. In 2006 he had made a trip to Israel; his aim was to show his “20,000 daily Iranian readers what Israel really looks like and how people live there”.