Latest News from Iran

Diplomacy
· Ahmadinejad urges the "nations of the world" to "run to the rescue of the people of Gaza."
o Former president Mohammad Khatami's first vice president Mohammad-Reza 'Aref says "the recent events in Gaza are a stain of disgrace on Western civilization in the 21st century."
o Grand Ayatollah Montazeri condemns Israeli bombardment of Gaza, authorizes his followers to pay a third of their religious taxes as aid to the people of Gaza.
o Rafsanjani says Gaza is in need of military, political and diplomatic aid.
· Anti-Israel demonstrations in Tehran after the Friday prayers.
o Fars News Agency reports demonstrations in front of the Turkish and German embassies scheduled for Saturday.
o Arak Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Ahmad Mohseni Gorkani says the "kings of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are to blame for the bloodshed in Gaza."
o Unknown perpetrators attack the Saudi embassy in Tehran with Molotov cocktails.
o The Student Basij threatens to "throw out" the Jordanian ambassador to Iran if "Jordan fails to condemn Israel's attacks in Gaza in the next 84 hours."
§ Student Basij demonstrates in front of the Embassy of Jordan in Tehran.
o Mir-Ahmadi, representative of the Office of the Supreme Leader at universities, speaking to an assembly of "martyrdom seekers [suicide terrorism volunteers]" says the Supreme Leader's use of the words Koffar-e Harbi [combatant infidels] and Monafeqan-e Ommat [Hypocrites of the community of believers] is very important, and that the students should demonstrate, but that they should refrain from entering the premises of the embassies.
o 4,000 members of the Labeik Ya Khamenei [Answering the call of Khamenei] suicide unit demonstrate in front of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
· Agah-Sazi's analyst writes that the Student Basij's attack on the residence of the British ambassador in Tehran is a direct consequence of Revolutionary Guards chief Ja'fari's speech in which he said that the IRGC should assist the students to make conditions ripe for another "November 4, 1979," a reference to the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
o In an official statement, the Revolutionary Guards denies any involvement in the Student Basij's takeover of the Qolhak Garden residence of the British ambassador to Tehran and claim there is no connection between earlier remarks of the chief of the Guards on "preparing the grounds for recreation of the background for the November 4, 1979 event,” a reference to takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
o Members of the Student Basij leave Qolhak Garden, part of the British diplomatic mission.
o Nowrouz analyst wonders if the Student Basij members managed to enter the Qolhak Garden, the residence of the British ambassador in Tehran, because of coordination with the Law Enforcement Forces or because of the inherent weakness of the Law Enforcement Forces.
o Asr-e Iran defends Iran's ownership of the Qolhak Garden and stresses that the Iranian authorities should retain every inch of Iranian territory be it the Abu Musa, the Greater or Lesser Tonb islands, or the Garden of Qolhak, but stresses that the correct way of retaining ownership of the garden is not through violence.
§ Asr-e Iran also asks why the Student Basij raised the Palestinian flag inside the premises of the garden since the Garden of Qolhak belongs to Iran, not to Britain or Palestine.
o Members of the Student Basij who broke into the garden of the British ambassador's residence in Qolhak and raised the Palestinian flag attack "internal enemies" in a public statement: "The British are delusional and those who have their hands in the hands of the British and smile at Jack Straw and other English criminals… will never be allowed to strengthen their position in this country."
§ The Student Basij demanded transfer of the garden to Iranian authorities and closure of the Egyptian diplomatic interest section in Tehran.
o Spokesman of the Foundation for Preservation of Works and Values of the Sacred Defense says the attack against the garden of the residence of the British ambassador was meant as a message to the British government. Should they fail to evacuate the Garden of Qolhak, the revolutionary spirit of the Iranian people would "take the garden out of their claws."
· Former Ansar-e Hezbollah leader and current filmmaker Masoud Deh-Namaki, speaking to students staging a sit-in at Mehrabad airport, incites: "[I know] that if the Supreme Leader asks you to walk on mine fields you will do so...When the Supreme Leader says that who ever dies in this path is a martyr, there is no need to ask for religious permission and fatwas from others...Don't wait for visa or passport. Just go and fight the Zionists and deny them a good night's sleep."
o Sadeq Shahbazi, secretary of the Justice Seeking Student Movement, spoke to the students at Mehrabad about differences between "American Islam" and "Revolutionary Islam" and declared that as soon as the authorities provide the students with permits, they would leave Iran to fight "the war fighting infidels in the occupied land."
o Tehran parliamentarian Ali-Reza Zakani, speaking to Iranian students staging a sit-in at Mehrabad Airport: "We did not export the revolution with missiles...Support to the people of Gaza and clashing with the Zionist regime should take place by awaking different classes of the people in the entire world, like the Egyptians who are rising and revolting today."
o "Hezbollahi" forces stage sit in at Mashhad Airport and demand to be transported to Gaza to fight Israel.
o United Front of Bloggers call for registration of martyrdom seekers [suicide terrorists] willing to attack Israel.
o Suicide terrorist units stage rally in front of Tehran University.
§ (E) 20,000 students register as suicide terrorists.
o (E) Iranian doctors ready to go to Gaza.
o (E) Iranian Jewish leader urges help and support for Gaza.
· Iranian researcher Majid Tafreshi, in cooperation with Tabnak News Agency, publishes classified reports of British ambassador Parsons prior to the revolution in Iran.
· Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani says countries of the region will lose their independence if Israel realizes its regional ambitions, but adds Iran will oppose it.
· Hojjat al-Eslam Hassan Rowhani, the Supreme Leader's representative in the Supreme National Security Council, contradicts Ahmadinejad and says Iran does not benefit from U.N. Security Council Resolutions against Iran.
· Parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani travels to Syria on Monday.
· (E) Iraqi Prime Minister Maleki due in Tehran on Saturday.
· (E) Iraq ready to expel Mujahedin al-Khalq terrorists.

Military and Security
· Eraghi, the chief of the Mohammad Rasoulollah Revolutionary Guards unit of Greater Tehran says "when the circumstances are ripe, members of the Basij will liberate every inch of Palestine."
· The Islamic Republic Army establishes a research center.
· Hezbollah general secretary Nasrallah says Hezbollah will react in case of any Israeli ground offensive in Gaza.
· Ansar-e Hezbollah vigilante organization demands closure of the Hormuz Strait until Egypt opens its borders to Gaza.

Media
· Kargozaran banned after publishing an anti-Hamas communiqué from the Office of Consolidation of Solidarity student organization.
o Kargozaran editor Mehran Karami tries to convince the authorities that his newspaper remains anti-Zionist.
Politics
· Sa'id Ghasemi-Nezhad, a member of Office of Consolidation of Unity, attacks former president Khatami: "In our view, the presence of Khatami - in the way he was before - does not benefit himself, the nation nor the reform movement...There is no need for Mr. Khatami leading the reforms since this responsibility exceeds his abilities, knowledge and courage...It is often said that Mr. Khatami speaks well, but does few good deeds. Mr. Karrubi on the other hand does not speak so well, but his deeds are more numerous than Mr. Khatami. Nowadays, we even don't hear Mr. Khatami speak well...Mr. Karrubi is in my opinion a more suitable candidate than Mr. Khatami...he promises less, but acts more."
o An "informed source" close to former president Khatami says he will not run for president.
o Former Khatami vice president Abtahi says Khatami has not decided not to run for president.
· National Trust Party general secretary and presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi: "The late Imam [Khomeini] always stressed the republican element of the Islamic Republic and the popular vote...Those who do not believe in popular vote and claim there is no need for voting are ignoring the statements of the Imam."
· Moetalefeh faction's Ghaffouri-Fard says former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi will run for president.
· Former Basij Chief Revolutionary Guards commander Ali-Reza Afshar appointed social affairs, cultural and city council affairs deputy at Interior Ministry.
· Professor Hamid Mowlana praises Ahmadinejad’s "statesmanship."
· Ahmadinejad in Sistan va Baluchistan province: "The spirit of the people of Sistan va Balouchestan is the spirit of martyrdom."
· Reformist theoretician Tajzadeh commenting on rumors that the Supreme Leader is unwilling to allow Khatami to run, says Khamenei will not oppose anyone's candidacy. Reformist Participation Front says it will not participate in elections if the result is engineered.
· Chief Inspectorate head Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi accuses the Khatami government of having made unauthorized withdrawals from the foreign exchange reserve.

Religion, Culture and Society
· Iranian authorities bury remains of unknown soldiers from Iran/Iraq war at Tehran University campus in order to "make the right spiritual atmosphere at the university."
· Shi'a News reports suppression of Shi'a in Kuwait, and says the Saudi Qatif province is encircled by the security forces.
· Bahraini Shi'a preacher Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qasem attacks new legislation which he says violates civil rights.
· Ayatollah Safi Golpayegani says the plight of the Shi'a in Pakistani city of Parachinar is worse than that of the Palestinians of Gaza.
· (E) Isfahan merchants now selling Chinese trinkets to tourists.

Human Rights and Labor
· 150 members of the Basij attack the home of Iranian Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi.
· Tea Factory workers write an open letter to Ahmadinejad threatening to strike if the government ignores the problems of the tea sector in Iran.
· 100 workers at Hegmataneh Petrochemical Plant in Hamadan demonstrate for back wages.

Economy
· Parliament votes 127-85 for the first draft of the economic reform plan.
· Meat price rises 25 percent.
· Central Bank reports 19.3 percent of the people of Iran live below the poverty line.

Trade
· Turkmenistan authorities impose their price upon Iran: Natural gas exported to Iran will be $350 per cubic meter.
Photos of the Day
· Student Basij attacks the residence of the British ambassador to Iran. More.
· Martyrdom seekers demonstrate in front of the Jordanian Embassy.
· American University Professor-turned Ahmadinejad advisor Hamid Mowlana stepping on Stars and Stripes.

Move to the euro haunts Ahmadi-Nejad : By Najmeh Borzogmehr

Published: December 29 2008
In 2007, Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran’s colourful president, called the US dollar a “torn piece of paper” and in November last year his government changed the country’s base foreign currency to the euro in an effort to try and avoid US sanctions imposed as a result of the country’s nuclear programme. At the time, Mr Ahmadi-Nejad and his colleague Hugo Chávez, president of Venezuela, even tried to persuade the other members of Opec to shift their reference prices for oil to the European currency, arguing that the greenback was fatally weakened.

A year on, however, and the Iranian government has had to live with a revival in the dollar’s fortunes and it is the rial that is in the doldrums. The rial has lost about 10 per cent against the dollar during the past month, even rising above the important 10,000 to the dollar mark for the first time in its history. It has since strengthened slightly back to 9,820. This has landed Mr Ahmadi-Nejad’s government on the wrong side of public opinion, which views the rial’s value against the dollar as a central indicator of its economic strength. Although the rial has changed little if measured against a basket of currencies, including the euro and the pound, “people are only concerned about the dollar rate”, says one economist. In the aftermath of the Islamic revolution the rial collapsed, and the regime adopted a series of exchange rate policies in 1980s and 1990s by fixing at about half a dozen different rates against the dollar. But in 2001, a reformist government led by Mohammad Khatami officially adopted a policy of a managed float.
Yet successive Iranian governments, even before Mr Ahmadi-Nejad took office in August 2005, have followed an unstated policy of ensuring that the dollar traded at less than 10,000 rials.
Whenever the rate has looked close to crossing that mark, the central bank has injected dollars to bring it down again. But this time the authorities are choosing not to pump in dollars because the country’s oil revenues, the main source of income, are plummeting. Iran tries to receive its oil income in euros to avoid oversight by the US authorities, which could block the Islamic regime’s money over the controversial nuclear programme and alleged funding of terrorism.
Experts estimate that about two-thirds of the country’s $80bn foreign currency reserves are now held in euros, and government opponents have complained of a loss of about $5bn due to the European currency’s recent decline against the dollar. Mr Ahmadi-Nejad argues that the benefits of increasing euro share in the reserves still exceed recent losses. “We have had both economic and political gains by shifting from the dollar to the euro because the dollar was hugely weakened but this [the current strength of the dollar] will last for a short period of time,” Mr Ahmadi-Nejad said earlier this month, while vowing to run the country for a further three years even if oil prices fall to zero. However, the drastic fall in oil prices will still put the government budget under great pressure next year, and may leave it no choice but to devalue the rial. Analysts say that they do not expect this to happen before the presidential election in June.
In downtown Tehran, the main centre of currency trading, traders say that the stronger dollar is a natural reaction to world markets. They are, however, worried about the possibility of heavy-handed government interference – such as closure of their shops, which happened about 13 years ago – should the dollar strengthen further. “The government might accuse some traders of dollar smuggling, close their shops and urge people to buy hard currencies only from banks,” one trader says.

HRH PRINCE REZA KORUSH PAHLAVI'S MESSAGE REGARDING THE CLOSURE OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICES IN TEHRAN

هم میهنان عزیزم

رژیم بیدادگر اسلامی در تهران با خشم بسیار از ناتوانی در برابر خیزش مردم آزادیخواه به خاموش کردن فریاد آنها می پـردازد و دفتــر «دفاع از حقـوق بشر» در تهـران را می بندد و بس کـودکانه می پندارد که همۀ کاستی ها و کمبودها را با بستن یک دفتر کوچک به پایان رسانیده است

روشن نیست که این ایران ستیزانِ نابِخرد بی فرهنگ از کجا آمده اند ولی پس از سی سال زندگی در ایران باید بدانند که بستن یک دفتر در تهران برابر است با گشودن دهان میلیون ها ایرانی دادخواه که شمار روزافزون آنها به زودی ریشۀ ستم را از ایران بَرخواهد کَند

خیزش دادخواهانۀ مردم ایران ریشه در جاودانگی خون سیاوش دارد که روزی در جایی بر زمین فرو میچکد و در فردای آن روز از هزاران جای دیگر می جوشد و می بالد و سر برمی آورد

آیا از فرهنگ کهن این سرزمین نیاموخته اند که سرنوشت بیدادگران زندانی شدن در دماوند تاریخ است.

و هنوز شکوه دماوند و زبونی ضحاک به روشنی در اندیشه فرهنگ ساز ایرانی ماندگار و آشکار است

آیا پس از گذشت سده ها نافرمانی و بیزاری از اندیشۀ بیگانگان ایران ستیز کسی به آنها نگفته است که «مردم ایران» هیچگاه «اُمت» نمی شوند و باز هم ندیده اند که از جاودانگی واژۀ «ایران» پیداست که خاموش کردن این خروش هفت هزار ساله از توان تاریخ بیرون بوده است

امروز من نیز در جایگاه یک ایرانی میهن پرست سرنوشت بیدادگران را به دست دادخواهان ایران می سپارم و در این دادخواهی همراه و همرزم شما خواهم بود

خداوند نگهدار ایران باد

رضا پهلوی

8 Rahnemoud dar peyaam emrouz Kourosh Reza Pahlavi

LISTEN HERE : http://iranmehr.1iran.org/Sound/LbRezaPahlavi081226Rahnemoud.wma

FROM : iranmehr@1iran.org



LISTEN HERE : Part 01 - http://iranmehr.1iran.org/Sound/RfSayaas081228a.wma
Part 02 - http://iranmehr.1iran.org/Sound/RfSayaas081228b.wma-

گزارش سال ٢٠٠٨ دیده بان اجتماعی

شاخص برابرحقوقی جنسیتی در کشورھای جھان
حمید حمیدی دسامبر 2008
پیشکش بھ نسرین ستوده بھ پاس زحماتش در محو نابرابری جنسیتی
برابر حقوقی جنسیتی دارای ابعاد مختلفی است کھ بھ دلیل کمبود شاخص ھای دقیق ناظر بر آن، سنجش آن را با دشواری مواجھ می سازد. برای درک بیشتر بی عدالتی ھای جنسیتی و نیز نظارت ب ر تحولات این پدیده، دیدبان اجتماعی، گزارش برابر حقوقی جنسیتی در سال 2008 را منتشر نموده است. این گزارش براساس اطلاعات موجود، وضعیت کشورھا را بر اساس شاخص ھای انتخاب شده ی مرتبط با برابر حقوقی جنسیتی در سھ حوزه، تحصیلات، مشارکت در اقتصاد و مشارکت سیاسی،مشخص نموده و بھ مقایسھ آنھا با یکدیگر می پردازد. دیده بان اجتماعی در تھیھ گزارش مربوط بھ سال 2008 ،اطلاعات مربوط بھ 157 کشوررا در سھ حوزه اشاره شده،طبقھ بندی و برھمین اساس بھ بررسی وضعیت برابر حقوقی جنسیتی در 133 کشور،در مقایسھ با پنج سال گذشتھ پرداختھ است. بالاترین نرخ دراین گزارش ( 100 %) است کھ این نرخ مبین محو شکاف و نابرابری جنسیتی می باشد .جی .ای .آی در این گزارش میزان شکاف بین زن و مرد را جدا از مسائل رفاه آنان مشخص نموده است. برای مثال، کشوری کھ در آن دختران و پسران بھ طور مساوی قادر بھ ادامھ ی تحصیلات عالیھ دانشگاھی می باشند، از این دیدگاه در رتبھ ی 100 جای می گیرد و ھمچنان کشوری کھ در آن دختران و پسران ھر دو بھ طور مساوی از ادامھ تحصیل بالاتر از مقطع دبستان بی یھره اند نیز در رتبھ 100 جای می گیرد.این نوع رتبھ بندی بھ معنای عدم اصلاح پذیری کیفیت تحصیلات نیست بلکھ رفاٌ بدین معناست کھ دختر و پسر ھر دو بھ طور مساوی از کیفیتی یکسان بی بھره اند . در این فھرست تحصیلات تنھا مولفھ ایی است کھ بسیاری از کشورھا در آن بھ واقع بھ یک سطح تساوی رسیده اند و ھنگامی کھ این تساوی بھ دست می آید، ھیچ گونھ پیشترفت بعدی، دیگر ممکن نیست. جدا از این واقعیت کھ بسیاری از کشورھا، نھ تنھا پیشترفتی نمی کنند بلکھ مولفھ تحصیلات شاخص برابری جنسیتی، نشان می دھد کھ بسیاری از آنھا حتی در حال نزول می باشند. در دو مولفھ دیگر کھ مربوط بھ مشارکت زنان در زندگی اقتصادی و سیاسی است، ھیچ کشور ی برابری و تعادل کاملی را نشان نمی دھد. نمودار شکاف جنسیتی در کشورھای جھان مولفھ برابری جنسیتی اثبات می کند کھ اختلاف درآمد بین کشورھا دلیل و توجیھ قابل قبولی برا ی نابرابری حقوقی بین زن و مرد نمی باشد.برای تبین این مطلب باید افزود کھ، بسیاری از کشورھا ی فقیر بھ رده بالایی از تساوی حقوق دست یافتند کھ این موضوع حتی زمانی ھم کھ این برابری بھ معنای تقسیم عادلانھ ی فقر باشد، پیشترفت و موفقیتی مثبت در راستای رسیدن بھ اھداف شاخص برابری جنسیتی می باشد. در حقیقت، اغلب عکس این قضیھ صادق است: بسیاری از کشورھایی کھ میانگین ارقام قابل قبولی در شاخص ھای اجتماعی داشتند، اغلب در پشت میانگین بالای اختلاف بین زن و مرد پنھان م ی شوند. رفع تبعیض ھای جنسیتی می تواند توسط سیاستھای فعال بھ انجام رسد و نیازمند این نیست کھ کشورھا سطح درآمدھایشان را برای موفقیت و پیشترفت در این زمینھ گسترش دھند. سوئد، فلاند و نروژ ھمچنان در بالاترین رده ھای سال 2008 جی. ای. آی قرار دارند. اگر چھ این سھ کشور ھر سھ حوزه ای را کھ گزارش بر مبنای آنھا تنظیم گردیده است را مورد پوشش قرار نداده اند ولی در ھمھ ی آنھا، عملکرد قابل قبولی ارائھ داده اند. آلمان در رده ی چھارم و روندا-یکی از فقیرترین کشورھای جھان- در رده ی پنجم این فھرست جا ی می گیرد. در تمام این موارد اختلافات جنسیتی بھ سبب سیاستھای فعال و موثر از جملھ سھمیھ ی جنسیت ی برای مشارکتھای سیاسی در ھیاتھای انتخاباتی و ائتلافھای طرفداران تساوی حقوق زن و مرد در بازار کار ،کمتر شده است.

جی.ای.آی) )(Gender Equity Index) GEI
( سازمان دیده بان اجتماعی- گزارش سال 2008 )*http://www.socialwatch.org
آدرس اصلی در سایت دیده بان اجتماعی:

http://www.socialwatch.org/en/avancesyRetrocesos/IEG_2008/tablas/SWGEI.htm

رژیم ضدبشری آخوندی مردی را در مشهد سنگسار کرد

بنا به گزارشهای منتشرشده، روز جمعه، ۶ دی ماه ۱۳۸۷، مردی در گورستان بهشت رضا در شهر مشهد سنگسار شده است . بر اساس این گزارش، دو مرد که به سنگسار محکوم شده بودند، هم زمان در خاک قرار گرفته و سنگسار شدند. اما یکی‌ از این دو نفر، به نام محمود، موفق شد که خود را از گودال بیرون بکشد و آزاد سازد. وی به این ترتیب از مرگ با سنگسار رهایی یافت . اما مرد دیگر، که نام او هنوز فاش نشده است، با سنگسار به قتل رسید .اتهام این دو نفر هنوز معلوم نیست و آن­ها در شعبه ۵ دادگاه کیفری استان خراسان به سنگسار محکوم شده بودند. این حکم در حالی‌ اجرا شده است که جمهوری اسلامی اجرای حکم سنگسار را در مقابل مراجعه بین المللی انکار می‌کند . همچنین، مراقبت‌های ویژه امنیتی برای جلوگیری از پخش اخبار مربوط به سنگسار وجود دارد. از این رو، این خبر در نشریات داخل کشور هنوز بازتاب نیافته است

گزارشی از سنگسار اخیر شهر مشهد

جمعه ، 13 دی 1387 ، 13:56
در طی روزهای اخیر اخبار متفاوتی از اجرای احکام سنگسار در شهر مشهد منتشر گردیده است که بعضاً در تعداد ، ماهیت و اتهام افراد سنگسار شده ایجاد شبهه نموده است . بر این اساس جهت تنویر افکار عمومی لازم به توضیح دیدیم ، در تاریخ 6 دی ماه سال جاری در شهر مشهد دو زندانی متهم به زنا با حکم دادسرای عمومی شهر مشهد در گورستان اصلی این شهر به نام بهشت رضا سنگسار گردیدند.یکی از متهمان پس از آغاز اجرای حکم سنگسار با تقلای بسیار و در حالی که به شدت مجروح بود موفق شد از گودال خارج شود و طبق احکام شرعی سنگسار وی متوقف گردید اما متهمی دیگر به دلیل آسیبهای وارده ناشی از اصابت سنگ جان خود را از دست داد.مراسم پرتاب سنگ در حدود 40 دقیقه به طول انجامیده بود.قربانی این مجازات غیر انسانی فردی به نام هوشنگ خداداده ، 36 ساله می باشد که متهم به زنا گشته بود ، وی که اهل تهران می باشد در حدود هشت سال قبل به جرم قاچاق مواد مخدر محکوم به اقامت اجباری سه ساله در تربت حیدریه واقع در استان خراسان گردیده بود . نامبرده در سال 1384 به اتهام زنا بازداشت و حکم رجم (سنگسار) وی پس از سه سال تحمل زندان به اجرا درآمد . برخلاف آنچه یکی از روزنامه های داخلی مدعی گردیده بود وی پیرو مذهب بهاییت نبوده است و متهم زن این پرونده به نام م.خ نیز با حکمی مشابه هم اکنون در بند نسوان زندان وکیل آباد مشهد در انتظار اجرای حکم سنگسار خود

گفتگو با پروین اردلان و فیلم پیام خا نم ستوده در ایتا لیا

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5142504486565511179&ei=uh1cSYCuFY62iAL-i6naBw&q=tishktv&so=1

در لینک زیر میتوانید گفتگو با دکتر سلطانی را در ارتباط با کانون و حق تشکل ملاحظه کنید

http://video.google.fr/videoplay?docid=4914986757705747778&ei=fkRbSfupDYn82gKi3LnECA&q=tishktv&so=1

Christmas message from Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is 'sick' - By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent

Channel 4's Christmas message from the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been criticised by the Government, branded a "national embarrassment" by Israel and led to an outcry by human rights campaigners. -

In his "alternative Christmas message", President Ahmadinejad criticised world leaders for their lack of spirituality and said that Christ would oppose "warmongers, occupiers, terrorists and bullies the world over" if he were alive today. Mr Ahmadinejad was the first secular president to be elected in Iran for 24 years but his aggressive rhetoric and desire to build a nuclear arsenal has caused worries across the Middle East. In March last year Iran captured 15 Royal Navy sailors on duty in the Gulf and paraded them on television before releasing them, 13 days later, as an “Easter gift” to the British people. Channel 4's decision to give the Iranian president a platform has been criticised on the grounds of his country's poor human rights record, his denial of the Holocaust and his desire to see Israel "wiped off the map". The speech was broadcast at 7.15pm rather than clashing with the Queen's speech on the other terrestrial channels. The president used the message to call Christ, who is considered a Muslim prophet, a "standard-bearer of Justice". Speaking in Farsi with English subtitles, Mr Ahmadinejad said: "The crises in society, the family, morality, politics, security and the economy which have made life hard for humanity and continue to put great pressure on all nations have come about because the prophets have been forgotten, the almighty has been forgotten and some leaders are estranged from god." He finished by praying for the New Year to be "a year of happiness, prosperity, peace and brotherhood for humanity". But the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had made "a series of appalling anti-Semitic statements" during his time in office. A spokesman added: "The British media are rightly free to make their own editorial choices, but this invitation will cause offence and bemusement not just at home but amongst friendly countries abroad." The Israeli Embassy branded the Christmas message a "sick and twisted irony" and Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor said: "In Iran, converts to Christianity face the death penalty. It is perverse that this despot is allowed to speculate on the views of Jesus, while his government leads Christ's followers to the gallows." He said Channel 4's decision to broadcast the message was a "scandal and a national embarrassment" and in "its search for ratings and shock factor, Channel 4 has lost its ethical way". Rabbi Aaron Goldstein, of Liberal Judaism, said: "The Queen's speech is so benign that it is worthwhile having something thought-provoking. "But doing a sort of lucky dip to pick out a controversial character, then allowing him to make a lovey-dovey speech, that this character is being allowed to dress himself up as a kind of Father Christmas, that is problematic." However, Channel 4 received support from Ben Summerskill, director of gay rights group Stonewall who said that the speech was "an important way of reminding him that there are some countries where free speech is not repressed". Channel 4 head of news and current affairs Dorothy Byrne defended the decision to broadcast the message. She said: "As the leader of one of the most powerful states in the Middle East, President Ahmadinejad's views are enormously influential. "As we approach a critical time in international relations, we are offering our viewers an insight into an alternative world view. "Channel 4 has devoted more airtime to examining Iran than any other broadcaster and this message continues a long tradition of offering a different perspective on the world around us." The broadcaster courted controversy with its alternative message since it was introduced in 1993. In 2006 a veiled British Muslim woman used the message to attack Jack Straw for his criticism of the niqab [face veil] earlier the same year.

See the full video here : http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1184614595/bctid5777729001

TEHRAN GREETS CHRISTMAS WITH MORE EXECUTIONS!

December 25, 2008 IRVAJ Shaheen Fatemi
TEHRAN GREETS CHRISTMAS WITH MORE EXECUTIONS!
Today, while many in the world celebrate the message of ‘peace on earth, good will to men’, the blood-thirsty tyrants in Tehran have marked the day with their own trade-mark: death and intolerance. The year is not over yet but with 317 executions the regime has broken its own record for recent years and holds the dubious and shameful second place, after China, as the world champion government of murder. Once again women and children constitute a good part of this year’s list of victims. For how long is the civilized world and its decent people are going to remain silent in face of such atrocities? This government should be driven out of all international organizations and any other legitimate gathering of democratic governments. Let this out-law regime Keep Company with Cuba, Zimbabwe, North Korea and similar despicable dictatorships. To remain indifferent in face of all these barbarous acts will not be judged lightly by history. No nation and no government in the world can claim tomorrow that they were not aware of the fact that an entire nation has been taken hostage by this unlawful government which is responsible for such heinous acts in Iran.

اعدامهای دسته جمعی قتل عام در ابعاد کوچک
جعفر پویه
رژیم ددمنش و آدمکش جمهوری اسلامی روز گذشته 9 نفر را در زندان مخوف اوین به دار آویخت. این درحالی است که در هفته گذشته نیز 5 نفر را در شهر قم به دار آویخته است.
سیستم قضایی رژیم آدمکش ولایت فقیه که بر اساس قوانین عهد بادیه نشینی دادگاه های خود را تشکیل می دهد، در عمل آدمکشی و قتل متهمان را با دست آویز قرار دادن احکام مذهبی قصاص توجیه می کند. قتل آگاهانه و جانشین کردن انتقام به جای اجرای عدالت و کینه کشی و واگذار کردن زندگی و مرگ یک انسان به عهده اولیای دم، کاری است که سیستم قضایی رژیم اسلامی انجام می دهد. با این کار آنها بار اخلاقی و اجتماعی این گونه آدمکشیها را به گردن کسانی می گذارند که در پرونده از آنان با عنوان "اولیای دم" نام برده می شود. اگر اینگونه قضاوت و دادخواهی مجاز باشد، چه نیازی به دم و دستگاه عریض و طویل قضاییه است؟
چنین رویه ای که ارتکاب به قتل آگاهانه و عمدی با حمایت و پشتیبانی دستگاه پلیسی رژیم توسط شخص دیگری انجام می گیرد، می تواند در هر مکان و یا جای دیگری بدون وجود این همه دم و دستگاه عریض و طویل هم اجرا شود.
رژیم جمهوری اسلامی با حاکم کردن قوانین مذهبی بر دادگاه های عمومی و تبدیل دادخواهی و اجرای عدالت به کینه کشی و انتقام جویی در پناه دستگاه قضایی خویش، در عمل به یکی از جنایتکار ترین سیستمهای قضایی جهان تبدیل شده است.
قتل و آدم کشی رویه پایوران رژیم جمهوری اسلامی است. اگر چه بخشش یا مرگ محکوم را به عهده اولیای دم می گذارد اما بدیهی است که در انتها این سیستم جنایتکار آنهاست که اجازه آدمکشی را صادر می کند. در هفته گذشته بنا به گفته مصطفا برزگر گنجی، دادستان عمومی و انقلاب قم دو نفر از اعدام شدگان به اتهام مواد مخدر، دو نفر به اتهام تجاوز و یک نفر به دلیل ادعای امامت به چوبه دار سپرده شده است. در سیستم قضایی‌ای که متهمان دستگیر شده در زمان بازجویی تحت فشارهای شدید و غیر انسانی قرار می گیرند و از حضور وکیل آنها جلوگیری می شود و در نهایت وکیل تنها در روز محکمه و به طور صوری در دادگاه حضور دارد، چگونه می توان ادعاهای دم و دستگاه آدمکشی را در مورد افراد محاکمه شده باور کرد؟ در ثانی این چگونه دادگاهی است که کسی را تنها به جرم ادعای امام بودن به چوبه دار می سپارد و از کرده خود نیز شرم نمی کند؟
اعدامهای جمعی رژیم جمهوری اسلامی حکم قتل عام در اندازه کوچک را دارد. این رژیم به طور پیوسته محکومین دادگاه های غیر انسانی خود را به صورت دستجمعی به چوبه دار می سپارد. این قتلهای جمعی باید از سوی همه مجامع بین المللی و وجدانهای آزاد و انسانهای ترقیخواه محکوم گردد. یابد جلو دستگاه آدمکشی رژیم ولایت فقیه را گرفت. این رژیم با نصیحت و درخواست دست از رویه غیر انسانی خود برنمی دارد. برچیدن بساط این رژیم آدمکش و ضد انسان تنها راه جلوگیری از اعدامهای دستجمعی و قتل و کشتار محکومین بیدادگاه های غیر انسانی ولایت فقیه است.

Opium Trade by the mullah / Talebans

More than one-third of Afghan opium smuggled to Iran.
State-run Afghan Bakhtar News Agency reports on a documentary about smuggling of narcotics from Afghanistan to Iran and then to Iraq and Europe broadcast by Aljazeera News Network: 2,500 tons out of 8,200 tons of drugs produced in Afghanistan are trafficked to Iran and then smuggled to Iraq and Europe. 500 tons are consumed domestically in Iran and a similar quantity is seized by the Iranian police. The rest is smuggled to Iraq via Amana border region. 1,000 tons are then trafficked to Europe through Iraq’s northwestern borders. Afghanistan produced 8,200 tons of opium in 2007 – making 93% of world’s opium production. According to the U.N., the Taliban benefited about $100 million from the illicit drugs trade in 2007, and the figure has reached $300 million this year.
Afghan paper analyzes bilateral relations between Iran and Afghanistan.
The author criticizes Afghan officials for depending on foreign countries’ support to boost their political power, rather than to ensure Afghanistan’s national interest. He criticizes Vice President Karim Khalili for lavishly thanking the Iranian government’s role in bringing stability in Afghanistan and rendering hospitality to Afghan refugees at a time when Tehran is accused of helping Afghan opposition groups and has stepped up forced repatriation of Afghan refugees recently. “There are reports that the Taliban are provided with Iranian-made weapons in a mysterious way. A Taliban commander has boasted about using Iranian weapons against the Afghan government and coalition forces, especially Iranian anti-tank mines dubbed as ‘dragon’.
The article also quotes Afghan parliament’s second deputy chairman, who is part of the delegation visiting Iran, as saying: “We consider Iran a second home. We believe that if neighboring countries, particularly Iran, play an active role in Afghanistan’s reconstruction, we will not need the presence of foreigners in our land.”
Iran’s expulsion of Afghan refugees may trigger humanitarian crisis.
Shah Mohammad Maheq, the head of Afghan returnees in Herat Province, has warned of an imminent humanitarian crisis unless Iran halts forced repatriation of Afghan refugees in winter time. Maheq says Iran has recently stepped up eviction of Afghan refugees. This year, some 130,000 Afghans have been expelled from Iran to Herat through Islam Qala port. The returnees have no access to food and shelter. Maheq called on Kabul to put pressure on the Iranian embassy to slow down the expulsion of Afghan refugees and also asked the humanitarian aid agencies to help the homeless returnees. Iranian President Ahmadinejad had earlier said that Afghan refugees in Iran would face a six-month term in prison and forced repatriation if they failed to return voluntarily. Some two million Afghans live in Iran.

WHY THE MULLAHS ARE GIVING 11 MILLION BARRELS OF CHEAP OIL TO PAKISTAN ON THE NEVER - NEVER ?

Iran to give 30,000 barrels oil/day on deferred payment
By Ijaz KakakhelISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran have entered an arrangement under which Iran would provide 30,000 barrel crude oil per day to Pakistan on 90-day deferred payment, a well-placed source in the Ministry of Petroleum confided to Daily Times here on Tuesday. At present, Iran is providing Pakistan 10,000 barrel crude oil per day on 30-day deferred payment to help Pakistan meet its energy needs. The facility would be available to Pakistan at a time when the country’s foreign exchange reserves are under severe pressure. Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) is the only refinery, which would refine the Iranian crude oil. “With the passage of time when import of Iranian crude oil is increased, the refining capacity of the PRL and other companies would need enhancement,” source maintained. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources, Dr Asim Hussain on Tuesday said Pakistan was vigorously pursuing Iran – Pakistan – India (IPI) gas pipeline project to meet the growing energy demands. The advisor expressed these views during a meeting with Iranian Ambassador in Pakistan Mashallah Shakari. The two sides expressed satisfaction with the progress in IPI gas pipeline project and maintained that its early implementation would also serve to strengthen and expand the economic and trade relations among the regional countries. Pakistan’s delegation, led by Dr Asim Hussain, would visit Tehran on 29 December 2008 to sort out the issue of price revision in the signing of GSPA of the IPI project. It merits mentioning here that President Asif Ali Zardari also instructed the Ministry of Petroleum to speed up work on the IPI gas pipeline project. Talking to the Iranian Ambassador, the advisor said that IPI is an important component of Pakistan’s long-term energy plan and the government is therefore fully committed to complete the project as early as possible. The adviser said Pakistan and Iran have a long history of friendship and enjoy excellent brotherly relations in diversified fields, which were growing and s strengthening with the passage of time. Asim said that oil and gas co-operation between the two countries would further open up new vistas for their mutual advantage. He invited Iranian investors to avail the investment opportunities in Pakistan’s oil and gas sector.

To Pay off the blackmaillers !

Iran urges Pakistan to speed up release of kidnapped diplomat - Tehran, Dec 24, IRNA
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki expressed hope on Tuesday that Pakistan would take immediate action to help release Iranian diplomat abducted in that country last November. Mottaki made the remarks in a meeting with advisor to the Pakistan prime minister on finance affairs, Shaukat Tarin, who arrived in Tehran on Monday to attend the 3rd ministerial meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization. ECO member states include Afghanistan, Azerbaijan Republic, Iran, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The commercial attache of Iranian Consulate in Peshawar, Heshmatollah Attarzadeh Niaki, was abducted by unknown gunmen and taken to an unclear place on November 13 while he was on his way to work with his driver.
The Iranian minister stressed the need for promotion of Tehran-Islamabad ties in all fields, particularly trade activities. Mottaki said that the ECO was a good example of successful regional convergence. The minister added that Tehran and Islamabad should make necessary moves to hold the next ECO summit. The Pakistani official said, for his part, that there were many potentials for expansion of Tehran-Islamabad economic relations. He added that Pakistan could link the ECO to the South Asian Association Of Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Iran shuts office of human rights group : By Thomas Erdbrink

Nobel laureate's center accused of propaganda

Shirin Ebadi (center), a Nobel Peace laureate, left the Center for Defenders of Human Rights that she heads in Tehran. (Vahid Salemi/ Associated Press)

• Email - Print - ShareThis

TEHRAN - Iranian authorities yesterday closed the office of the country's main human rights organization, led by Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi. Dozens of plainclothes detectives along with local police officers entered the Center for Defenders of Human Rights in Tehran and shut it down hours before a ceremony was to take place commemorating the 60th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights.

According to members of the organization, which has been active since 2000, the police had been informed beforehand of the meeting, at which political activists were scheduled to speak."The general human rights activities of this nongovernmental organization are the reason for this illegal reaction," the center's leadership said in a statement. Center officials speculated that the closure was in part a response to a United Nations resolution issued last Thursday that expressed "deep concern" about the human rights situation in Iran.Iran has been protesting for months against the resolution, which was first put forward by Canada. In October, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon issued a special human rights report that called upon Iran to address concerns such as "amputations and corporal punishment. "Ebadi's organization assisted the UN in compiling the report. "Many international organizations quote our reports, including the report by the secretary general, which resulted in a resolution against the government of the Islamic republic of Iran," the center's statement said.An interior ministry commission, which gives permits for political organizations, said the center was carrying out illegal activities such as publishing statements, writing letters to international organizations, and holding press conferences, the semiofficial press agency Mehr News reported.The commission, according to the agency, accused Ebadi's center of distributing propaganda against the state. The report also cited repeated warnings delivered to the center, and said the building had been sealed on the orders of Tehran's top prosecutor.In a telephone interview, Ebadi called the closure "illegal" and "unacceptable." Ebadi vowed to reopen the center, saying that "the police actions are against the law."Ebadi acknowledged that the Center for Defenders of Human Rights did not have a permit to operate, but said that legalization of the organization had been blocked by the authorities.Since its founding, the organization has taken on 5,000 pro bono cases defending politically active women, journalists, and students, said Nargess Mohammadi, a spokesperson for the center.Yesterday, guests were still arriving for the ceremony when Ebadi and her colleagues were escorted out of the building by police officers.They had refused to leave their offices for more than an hour."This was supposed to be one of the few happy events for activists in Iran," said Asieh Amini, a journalist who focuses on human rights issues.

Protesters target home of Iran Nobel laureate
Thu Jan 1, TEHRAN (AFP) –

Dozens of protesters demonstrated outside the home of Iranian Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi on Thursday, chanting slogans accusing her of supporting US and Israeli "crimes," she told AFP.Around "150 demonstrators gathered outside my building and chanted slogans opposed to me," Ebadi said.They chanted "America and Israel commit crimes, Ebadi supports them," said the lawyer and human rights activist.The protesters dispersed 30 minutes later as police deployed but before leaving they scribbled graffiti on the facade of the building and tore down the sign of her office which is housed in the same building, she said.Ebadi described the incident as an "attack" but said "it has nothing to do with what is happening in Gaza because we published two days ago a statement condemning what is going on and supporting the Palestinians."Tehran has been gripped by almost daily protests since Israel launched last week a deadly onslaught against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in retaliation from rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave.Last week Iranian police raided the private office of Ebadi, who won the Nobel peace prize in 2003.On December 21 they raided and shut down the office of her Human Rights Defenders Centre, signalling a toughening crackdown on rights groups in the Islamic republic.Iranian authorities said the rights group office was shut down because the centre did not have an interior ministry permit to operate.

نامه سرگشاده دکتر ملکی به شیرین عبادی

از سایت ایران لیبرال
نامه سرگشاده دکتر ملکی به شیرین عبادی:
چرا برای دفاع از حقوق خود و دیگران مقاومت صلح جویانه نمیکنید‎

http://www.iranpressnews.com/source/052275.htm

Why Ahmadinejad Fears Khatami : Friday 19 December 2008By Amir Taheri

The Islamic Republic in Iran is facing "a sinister international conspiracy" designed to "replace religious rule with secularism." The plot was allegedly hatched by a "secret society of Freemasons" known as the Bilderberg Group whose members include many of the Western world's richest and most powerful businessmen and politicians.The alleged conspiracy was finalized at a secret meeting of the group in June 1999 in Caesar Park Hotel in the Portuguese resort of Penha Longa. Inside Iran, the executors of the "plot" included the so-called Reform Movement symbolized by former President Mohammed Khatami who attended the meeting along with his then assistant on environmental affairs Mrs. Massoumeh Ebtekar.The so-called Bilderberg "lodge" is often described by conspiracy theorists as "the secret government of the world".According to the report published by IRNA, the "plot" included building up Abdul-Karim Sorush, a self-styled philosopher and erstwhile Khatami protégé, as "the Martin Luther of Islam" with a message of separating religion from politics. They also tried to "transform Khatami into an Islamic [version of Mikhail] Gorbachev."Wow! A tall story from the rumor-mills in the marshlands of the Internet? Not at all. The claim comes in a lengthy report published by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the official organ of the Khomeinist regime in Tehran.The claim is worth noting for two reasons. The first is that it is presented by the official organ of the state. Claims that the former president had a part in foreign plots against the regime have been made by radical Khomeinist groups and websites since 2005 when Khatami's eight-year presidency ended. However, this is the first time that such a claim is given prominence by mainstream organs of the regime. The accusation was first published by the mass-circulation daily newspaper Kayhan whose Editor-in-Chief is appointed by the "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenei. The paper, which has promised "more sensational revelations", has often been used for character-assassination campaigns against critics of the regime, and makes no secret of its dislike for Khatami and his supposedly "reformist" supporters. Putting the claims on IRNA, however, marks a new step in the campaign against Khatami.The second reason why the episode is worth noting is that it indicates a dramatic intensification of the power struggle in Tehran. The radical revolutionary groups led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are beginning to fear a possible Khatami candidacy in next June's presidential elections.However, before we deal with the political implications of the campaign let us first deal with its substance.Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as the Bilderberg Group or Masonic lodge. What we have is an annual private meeting of influential individuals, mostly from Europe and the United States, designed to generate free discussions on a range of issues without a pre-set agenda and according to the so-called Chatam House rules under which there are no reports of the proceedings and none of the participants could be quoted by name.The first meeting was held at Hotel de Bilderberg near Arnhem in Holland in 1954 at the invitation of Prince Bernhard, the husband of the then Queen Juliana. The number of guests was fixed at 130 and initially only limited to politicians, academics and business people from member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Later, the meeting extended its reach and started inviting personalities from all over the world, according to which countries happened to be in the news. The invitations were designed to include two representatives from each country, one liberal and one conservative.Over the past half a century, almost anybody who was somebody in international business or politics has made at least one appearance at the group's annual meetings. Thus, if this were a gathering of conspirators we would have to assume that virtually the whole of the global leadership elite consists of Masonic plotters. Last June, for example, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both attended the Bilderberg meeting along with more than 60 other political figures from across the globe.From the late 1960s until 1977, a number of Iranian politicians, academics and business people attended one or more of the group’s gatherings - always with the understanding that they were there as private individuals. However, no Iranians were invited after the Khomeinist seizure of power in 1979. That such invitations were resumed in 1999 indicated the hopes raised by Khatami that the Islamic Republic could close its revolutionary phase and return to the mainstream as a normal nation-state.The IRNA campaign against Khatami shows that those hopes were premature. Even if one assumes that Khatami was sincere in his desire to normalize the Islamic Republic, the election of President Ahmadinejad showed that a majority of Khomeinists who provide the regime's support-base reject such change.Nevertheless, the question has not gone away. Many within the Khomeinist establishment realize that a majority of Iranians are tired of Khomeinism and desire normalization. The next presidential election, to be held in June, is likely to be fought on that issue. And Khatami is coming under pressure from inside and outside Iran to stand for election again, challenging Ahmadinejad's radicalism with a message of reform and moderation.The IRNA report shows that the radical factions fear a Khatami candidacy and are trying to terrorize him into not becoming a candidate. As always, the Khomeinists shun serious arguments. They prefer accusing their critics of atheism, secularism or, as in this case, collaboration with foreign conspiracies.The tactic may work against Khatami who has never been much of a fighter. But even if Khatami does not enter the presidential race, the main question will remain: how should Iran come out of the impasse created by a bankrupt ideology?

Ahmadi- nejad and his reletives in IRI's government

توجه شما را جلب می‌کنم به مبارزه جناب احمدی نژاد با فامیل بازی در دولت نهم: مهندس زریبافان (دبیر هیات دولت) داوود مددی رییس سازمان تامین اجتماعی باجناق زریبافان سید محسن نبوی عضو هیات مدیره شركت سرمایه گذاری خارجی داماد زریبافان علیرضا مددی مدیركل وزارتی وزارت تعاون برادرزاده باجناق زریبافان ناظمی اردكانی وزیر تعاون شوهر عمه داماد زریبافان دانش جعفری وزیر اقتصاد پسر عمه پدر داماد زریبافان هاشمی ثمره (مشاور عالی ، رییس ستاد انتخابات کشور و همه کاره رییس جمهور) مهندس مهدی هاشمی ثمره مدیر كل وزارتی وزیر نیرو برادر هاشمی ثمره خانم قند فروش مشاور خانواده وزیر كشور زن برادر هاشمی ثمره عبدالحمید هاشمی ثمره معاون وزیر صنایع برادر هاشمی ثمره محمود احمدی نژاد (رییس جمهور) داوود احمدی نژاد رییس بازرسی ریاست جمهوری برادر احمدی نژاد حسین شبیری رییس صندوق مهر رضا شوهر خواهر احمدی نژاد پروین احمدی نژاد معاون مركز امور زنان ریاست جمهوری خواهر احمدی نژاد علی اکبر محرابیان وزیر صنایع خواهرزاده احمدی نژاد

Tehran possesses nuclear bomb plans

Posted 19/12/2008 @ 16:39:13 GMT Tehran possesses nuclear bomb plans The Socialist Party lawmaker, Jean-Louis Bianco, told the French daily Le Figaro he was "certain" Iran's nuclear goals were military. "Tehran possesses nuclear bomb plans, which were without a doubt obtained thanks to Pakistani channels," he said. The report showed Iran has "a bomb miniaturization program," he said.

Obama to create Iran outreach post : by Eli Lake

THE WASHINGTON TIMES - EXCLUSIVE:



The incoming Obama administration plans to create a new position to coordinate outreach to Iran and is considering a number of senior career diplomats, State Department officials and Iran specialists say. President-elect Barack Obama promised during his campaign to seek dialogue with Iran without preconditions in an effort to persuade Tehran to suspend its uranium enrichment program, but also has pledged to toughen sanctions.
Comment - Print - Listen - Share

A State Department official said the idea of naming a senior Iranian outreach coordinator was broached in the first transition meetings with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mr. Obama's choice for secretary of state, and her transition team earlier this month. "The idea is that the position should build on the existing diplomatic framework," the official said. He asked not to be named because a nominee has not been announced. A spokeswoman for Mrs. Clinton declined to comment for this article. Brooke Anderson, a spokeswoman for the transition, also would not comment. However, several Iran specialists said such a position was in the works. "There is every indication that they are seriously considering going this way," said Patrick Clawson, deputy director for research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a group that has warned of the dangers of Iranian proliferation. Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council, an organization that supports U.S.-Iran dialogue, said that a special envoy position for Iran is planned. The current administration has refused to negotiate with Iran unless Tehran first suspends its uranium enrichment program. However, in July, ndersecretary of State William Burns attended a meeting in Geneva with an Iranian nuclear negotiator along with senior diplomats from the other four permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - Britain, France, China and Russia - plus Germany. The "P-5 plus 1" has sent envoys to Tehran and drafted three U.N. Security Council resolutions that have sanctioned organizations and individuals affiliated with the Iranian nuclear program. However, Iran has refused to suspend its program. Indeed, two days after the Geneva talks, the head of Iran´s Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Ali Jafari, announced the testing of an anti-ship missile he said could close the Straits of Hormuz, the chokepoint for 40 percent of the world's oil supplies . Critics of engagement doubt that Tehran will agree to give up its nuclear ambitions in return for economic and diplomatic concessions. "We've lost the [nuclear] race with Iran," said John R. Bolton, a former undersecretary of state and U.N. ambassador. Others say the United States has not tried hard enough. Suzanne Maloney, an Iran specialist at the Brookings Institution and former member of the State Department's policy planning staff under the Bush administration, said creating a senior coordinator position was important in part because Iran policy is now subject to an unwieldy interagency process. "There is a huge interagency component to this," she said, noting that the Treasury Department has been responsible for numerous banking and other financial sanctions against Iran. She also said that a senior coordinator position "communicates a seriousness on Iran, irrespective of what position you take." Coordinator positions traditionally are given to mid-level career diplomats, but in this case the job will likely to go a senior figure, the State Department official said. In addition to the nuclear issue, the coordinator will reach out to Iran regarding its activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said. A shortlist of candidates includes Dennis Ross, the former special envoy for Arab-Israeli negotiations under the Clinton and first Bush administrations, and the current U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan Crocker. Mr. Crocker testified before Congress that Iran has supported Iraqi militants who have killed U.S. soldiers. However, from the fall of 2001 until late 2002, he took part in talks in Europe with senior Iranian diplomats over the aftermath of the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan and the buildup to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. He has also met twice with Iran's ambassador to Iraq. Other names mentioned by U.S. officials and Iran specialists include Robert Galluci, President Clinton's point man for negotiating a 1994 nuclear agreement with North Korea. Also said to be on the list is Mr. Burns. James Dobbins, a former Bush administration envoy who worked with the Iranians to prepare Afghanistan's first post-Taliban government, has also been mentioned. However, Mr. Dobbins said Thursday that he had not been approached by the Obama transition team. He said a good first step would be to authorize U.S. diplomats around the world to talk to their Iranian counterparts on a routine basis. Mr. Clawson said there are two models for dealing with the intricate diplomatic challenges presented by Iran. One is to leave the coordination of policy to the assistant secretary of state for the region. This approach has been used for North Korea. "This worked well with North Korea because the main countries concerned are under the same regional group as the problem country," Mr. Clawson said. "For Iran the main countries who need to be brought on board are scattered across the globe. ... And so some kind of a coordinator or special envoy makes sense." Much about Mr. Obama's Iran policy remains unclear as does Iran's likely reaction to an offer of talks. On Dec. 7 on NBC´s "Meet the Press," Mr. Obama said he would offer both carrots and sticks to Iran, pointing out that Iran, a leading exporter of oil, still has trouble providing its population with refined petroleum. The next day a spokesman for Iran´s ministry of foreign affairs, Hassan Qashqavi, said such a carrot-and-stick approach "is unacceptable and [has] failed."

Former US admiral: Don't fear Iran

Adm. (ret.) William Fallon

Israel is one of the strongest countries in the Middle East and needs to stop giving in to a "fear factor" with regard to the prospect of a nuclear Iran, Adm. (ret.) William Fallon, the former commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv, Fallon told the Post that he could not understand why Iran would even contemplate using nuclear weapons against Israel unless the country wanted to be destroyed. "Do they wish to go away?" he asked, insinuating that a nuclear attack on Israel would elicit a devastating response. "They are not nearly as strong as their rhetoric indicates," Fallon said of Iran. "They are not particularly strong militarily outside their own internal entity, and they have huge economic issues and political instability. Their nuclear capability might give them something to feel consolation in." Fallon abruptly stepped down from the command of CENTCOM in March after Esquire magazine portrayed him as being opposed to President George W. Bush's Iran policy, describing him as a lone voice against military action aimed at halting the Iranian nuclear program. Today, he is a fellow at the MIT Center for International Studies. Israel, Fallon said, needed to come up with a strategic plan with regard to Iran and other threats. The military was just one tool among many that countries had at their disposal when dealing with a challenge, he said. "The first order is to get our house in order, for sure in the US, and it seems here as well," he said. "This has to do with tasking. If the readiness is good, then you can be tasked. Therefore, you need to have your house in order and then you can take on other challenges." He said the war Israel fought against Hizbullah in 2006 was an example of operating without a plan. "Where was the plan in Lebanon?" he asked. "I didn't see one." He also dismissed Iran's calls to destroy Israel as nothing more than rhetoric. "The Iranians say there is no place for the US in the Gulf and we are here. We are not leaving and Israel is not going away. This is rhetoric and this goes on all the time," he said.

US links office tower to Iran: December 18 2008

By Andrew Ward and Daniel Dombey in Washington

The US government on Wednesday launched steps to seize a 36-storey New York office tower allegedly part-owned by the Iranian government in violation of sanctions against Tehran. US authorities said the building, located on Manhattan’s prestigious Fifth Avenue, was partly controlled by an Iranian government bank through a front company based in the UK’s Channel Islands.
The State Department said Iran’s interest in the building breached US financial sanctions against Tehran aimed at thwarting the regime’s alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons. The US justice department filed a civil complaint seeking the forfeiture of a 40 per cent stake in the building owned by Assa Corporation, an alleged front company for Iran’s Bank Melli. The US and European Union have both imposed sanctions against Bank Melli over the past year, while the United Nations has called for countries to exercise “scrutiny” over its activities. In a statement justifying the seizure on Wednesday, the state department said the bank provided “financial services, including opening letters of credit and maintaining accounts, for Iranian front companies and entities engaged in proliferation activities”. The move signals one of the most visible steps to date in US efforts to ratchet up pressure on Iran, particularly in the financial sector,amid an impasse in international talks over fresh measures against Tehran. Iran has pressed ahead with its nuclear programme despite a series of United Nations resolution, while leading experts have warned it is coming closer to nuclear weapon capability. Iran maintains its nuclear programme is purely peaceful. President-elect Barack Obama has said he intends to develop both “carrots” and “sticks” to persuade Tehran to rein in its nuclear programme, in remarks highlighting the likelihood that his administration will continue the sanctions effort. The state department said the building, located at 650 Fifth Avenue, was co-owned by Assa Corporation and Alavi Foundation of New York, a non-profit Iranian charitable organisation.
The tower was constructed about 30 years ago by the Pahlavi Foundation, a nonprofit group set up by the late Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi , according to the US justice department. The Shah, a US ally,was overthrown as the Iranian leader in 1979. The organisation changed names to Bonyad Mostazafan after the 1979 revolution and then changed names again to the Alavi Foundation.
EDITOR’S CHOICE : IAEA Full report: nuclear programme - Jan-17 - Iran: nuclear timeline - Jan-17

The Return of Realpolitik in Arabia

Bush's 'diplomacy of freedom' gives way to Obama's caution and reticence. The M

iddle East may test our fatigue.

The hubris and self-confidence needed for expeditions into foreign lands have been devastated by the economic meltdown in our midst. Of the good manners and pliability of foreign regimes, we can be less certain. Nature abhors a vacuum, and challengers are sure to step forth. To its surprise, the new administration could yet discover that our adversaries do not wish to see our withdrawal from their midst. The Iranians thrive on the American presence in the Persian Gulf and feed off it. They are the quintessential oppositional force. They are not good at generating policies of their own. Their work consists of subversive attacks on Pax Americana in the region. The call by President Bush's critics for a dialogue with Iran will be exposed for the pathetic fraud it has been all along. The American drama swirling around the rise of Mr. Obama is of no interest to the theocrats in Tehran. For them, it is business as usual in the Persian Gulf.
We have witnessed the gains and the heartbreak of American activism and ambition on foreign shores. Around the corner lurk the risks of caution and reticence, of enemies who could see through, and test, our fatigue. The world is under no obligation to accommodate us.

Read This Article here : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122939127053709259.html?mod=djemEditorialPage

An answer to the article - Reza Pahlavi puzzle

جوابی نقد گونه بر "معمای رضا پهلوی"
احمد پناهنده
http://www.iranpressnews.com/source/051122.htm

apanahan@t-online.de a_panahan@yahoo.de

Iran 2008 share losses modest, oil key to 2009 : By Fredrik Dahl

TEHRAN, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Shares on the Tehran Stock Exchange look set to end 2008 with modest losses relative to many world markets after an oil price tumble swallowed earlier gains, but a recovery in crude is key to 2009 performance. Election and the nuclear stand-off with the West will also influence sentiment towards the Islamic Republic's 356 listed companies next year. Share prices in the world's fourth-largest crude producer, which is under U.S. and U.N. sanctions over its disputed nuclear plans, rose around 30 percent in the first six months of 2008, sheltered from the international credit crisis. But as oil dived $100 from a July peak of $147 per barrel, Iranian stocks turned sharply lower, losing all the year's gains. The all-share index traded at 8,907 on Monday, down around 9 percent from early January, and the monthly volume of trade was just $54 million in November, half its level earlier in the year. 'All of the industries of Iran are dependent on oil revenue and petrodollars,' economic commentator Saeed Laylaz said. He also cited uncertainty ahead of the election and worries about the nuclear row among factors weakening the market. Despite rallying earlier this year as crude surged, Iranian shares remained below their 2004 peak of 13,540. says the government directly or indirectly owns about 35 percent of the market, and foreign investors about 2 percent. 'During the past three months we have had the current financial crisis in the world, a sharp drop in oil prices and arguments between parliament and the government,' economics Professor Ebrahim Hosseini-Nasab said in explanation for the market reversal. He was referring to disagreement between lawmakers and the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is expected to stand for re-election in June, over plans to overhaul Iran's extensive subsidies for energy and other things. LONG-TERM VALUE? Ahmadinejad's critics and potential presidential rivals say his policies have squandered Iran's oil windfall gains and that another four years of profligate spending would be damaging. Iranian government officials say the country has been less affected than others by the financial crisis sweeping the world. In September, when shares were still showing gains of 20 percent, the head of the stock exchange said privatisations and increased company profits had helped to push up the market. But one stock market official acknowledged on Monday that it was not immune from events outside the country, and that 'part of the crisis came into our market a little bit later'. As many Western banks have already quit Iran because of sanctions, their Iranian counterparts have had fewer international credit lines to be hurt by a global crunch. But economists say Iranian banks have been harmed as a lending drive to small businesses turned sour, foreign export credits have dried up and as the oil price plunge drained the pool of petrodollars. Still, the official said market capitalisation was little changed from its January level of $50 billion, while indexes elsewhere in the world had plunged 30-40 percent or more. But Laylaz said Iran's stocks had fared as badly as other markets when adjusted for inflation of nearly 30 percent. He said its future direction would depend on the oil price and politics, but also suggested it offered long-term value. 'It will be profitable, but not in the short term,' he said when asked whether he would recommend buying Iranian shares.

AP Interview: Rice says sanctions affecting Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the sting of international sanctions is forcing at least some Iranian leaders to second-guess the regime's rebuff of world demands that it roll back its disputed nuclear program. "The Iranians are paying real costs for their behavior," Rice told The Associated Press in a wide-ranging interview Monday on the Iraq war, piracy off Somalia's coast, Mideast peace prospects and more. "It hasn't yet convinced them that they have to change their course, but there are plenty of voices being heard inside that government that are talking about the costs and about whether or not they've made a mistake in getting themselves so deeply isolated." Rice did not name names, and Iran's diffuse power structure can make it hard for outsiders, especially the United States, to know whose opinion matters in setting policy. The United States helped lead a drive at the United Nations to sanction Iran for an extensive nuclear development program that many nations suspect could lead to an atomic weapon. The sanctions were never as strong as the U.S. wanted, and they have had no visible effect on Iranian policy. Rice insisted, however, that U.N. and other penalties are forcing hard financial choices on a nation already under economic stress. Rice spoke shortly before flying to New York to attend two days of talks at the U.N. on a range of topics, possibly including Iran, which insists that its nuclear program is strictly for peaceful energy use. Without predicting that Iran would heed international calls to stop its nuclear activities, Rice said there is reason to believe the accumulating costs created by economic sanctions will make a difference at some point. "Sooner or later they are going to have to deal with the fact - particularly with declining oil prices - that those costs are going to become pretty acute," she said. The Bush administration's top diplomat, in a farewell interview with AP reporters and editors at the State Department, strongly defended the U.S. intervention in Iraq as worth the cost in lives, money and heartache. Trying to put the unsettling image of an Iraqi television reporter hurling his shoes at a visiting President Bush in the best possible light, Rice said it demonstrates how far the former dictatorship has come. The shoe incident Sunday in Baghdad "is a kind of sign of the freedom that people feel in Iraq," Rice said. The Iraqi man yelled at Bush that the shoes - a gesture of profound disdain in Iraq and elsewhere in the Muslim world - were a goodbye present to a dog. Bush brushed it off, and Rice called it insignificant in comparison with the development of a pluralistic democratic government in a country once devastated by Saddam Hussein's brutal rule.