Door: Marc E. Putto
Maart 2012
Door: Ingezonden
Dit is de voortzetting van de nieuwsdraad, welke ooit op www.joostniemöller.com begon, over het verzet van de groene beweging in Iran. Tevens worden hier links, video's en nieuwsberichten gepost over ontwikkelingen rond de nucleaire ambities van dit land. De draad wordt per 2 weken vernieuwd. Een chronologisch overzicht kunt u vinden in de categorie "Ondertussen in Iran".
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op 10 mrt 2012. Gearchiveerd onder Ondertussen in Iran.
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Iran Invokes the West to Motivate Voters
In the days leading up to Iran’s parliamentary elections on Friday, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other top officials have been crisscrossing their country to issue stern warnings against a vast Western conspiracy, driven by panic, to undermine the vote. The official news media have amplified the campaign: “U.S. Dreads Iranians’ Turnout in Elections,” read one typical banner on Press TV, the state-run English-language vehicle.
That may come as a surprise outside Iran, where the elections are widely ignored, or dismissed as a contest among an ever-narrower circle of archconservatives. But this is no ordinary election. It is the first one to take place since the presidential election of 2009, which set off widespread accusations of fraud, vast street protests and a bloody crackdown lasting months that effectively eviscerated any viable opposition.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/world/middleeast/iran-invokes-west-to-boost-election-turnout.html?_r=1
Iran religious, political hardliners face off in vote
Iranians voted on Friday in a parliamentary election which is expected to reinforce the power of the clerical establishment of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over hard-line political rivals led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The election is unlikely to have much impact on Iran’s foreign policies -- the country’s disputed nuclear program and international relations are already strictly controlled by Khamenei.
But it could allow the clergy to strengthen its hand in determining the political backdrop ahead of a presidential election due in 2013.
With Iran facing growing international isolation, western sanctions over its nuclear program and a threat of attack by Israel, Iranian leaders have been calling for a high turnout to bolster their legitimacy.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/02/us-iran-election-idUSTRE82109P20120302?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
http://www.mo.be/opinie/weg-die-bommen-godverdomme
Weg die bommen, godverdomme
29 februari 2012 MO*
Iran bevindt zich in het oog van een internationale politieke orkaan. De Israëlische regering bereidt zich voor op een aanval op nucleaire sites in Iran. De Amerikaanse president en zijn ministers herhalen te pas en te onpas dat “geen enkele optie” van de tafel geschoven wordt. De Europese Unie heeft zich met de jongste sanctieronde van haar ijzeren kant laten zien en de Arabische buurlanden vragen steeds uitdrukkelijker dat het Westen tussenkomt in Iran. Als de onvoorstelbaar geachte oorlog er dit jaar komt –wat steeds meer mensen vrezen– dan zal het niet als een donderslag bij heldere hemel zijn.
High turnout reported in Iran for parliamentary elections
Iranians voted Friday in parliamentary elections, the country’s first major ballot since the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009 led to months of anti-government protests.
No disturbances are expected to follow the vote this time around. The key question Friday was how many of the more than 48 million eligible voters would go to the polls to elect 290 new legislators.
Late in the day, state TV reported a preliminary turnout of 64.5 percent, and voting was extended by two hours. While it was difficult to verify turnout, with no independent monitors on the ground, several polling stations in Tehran were receiving a constant stream of voters.
Results are expected Sunday for larger cities and Monday for rural areas.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/polls-open-in-iran-for-parliamentary-elections/2012/03/02/gIQAz5QBmR_story.html?wprss=rss_world
Obama to Iran and Israel: ‘As President of the United States, I Don’t Bluff’
At the White House on Monday, President Obama will seek to persuade the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to postpone whatever plans he may have to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months. Obama will argue that under his leadership, the United States “has Israel’s back,” and that he will order the U.S. military to destroy Iran’s nuclear program if economic sanctions fail to compel Tehran to shelve its nuclear ambitions.
In the most extensive interview he has given about the looming Iran crisis, Obama told me earlier this week that both Iran and Israel should take seriously the possibility of American action against Iran’s nuclear facilities. “I think that the Israeli government recognizes that, as president of the United States, I don’t bluff.” He went on, “I also don’t, as a matter of sound policy, go around advertising exactly what our intentions are. But I think both the Iranian and the Israeli governments recognize that when the United States says it is unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, we mean what we say.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/obama-to-iran-and-israel-as-president-of-the-united-states-i-dont-bluff/253875/
Why Iran’s Election Is a Farce
ON just two occasions have recent elections in Iran reflected the people’s will and yielded particularly surprising and disorienting outcomes for the ruling establishment, first in 1997 with the election of Mohammad Khatami, and again, three years ago. In June 2009, the democratic opposition, led by the reformist Mir Hussein Moussavi — a former prime minister with a reputation for honesty, integrity and clean politics — polled strongly, only to have the election stolen from it through fraud.
Popular protests were met with widespread arrests, street assaults and assassinations, and a show of force by police commandos, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, militia members and countless paid plainclothes vigilantes. Soviet-style show trials and TV confessions followed. Since early 2010, except on one occasion, the ruling authoritarian clique has used sheer force, intimidation and fear to prevent public protests by the supporters of the opposition. Mr. Moussavi and a fellow opposition leader, Mehdi Karroubi, have been illegally under house arrest since February 2011.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/opinion/why-irans-election-is-a-farce.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
The preoccupation with turnout at the Iranian elections is misleading
Press restrictions and cronyism mean a high turnout at the Iranian polls tells us little about what most people really want
Iranians are voting today to elect a parliament, and both the country’s leaders and the world media are obsessed with turnout.
Iran’s top clerics, for their part, are desperate to report a vigorous vote to project an image of strength and stability as their showdown with the west fast approaches. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose supporters are involved in a face off with allies of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for control of parliament, called on Iranians to turnout and “smack the face” of the nation’s enemies. For days, the state media has broadcast a steady beat of nationalistic encouragement, suggesting to Iranians that not voting is akin to laying down a red carpet for foreign invasion. Even in the poll’s early hours, state-run news websites were running breathless headlines about stations running out of ballot papers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/02/iran-election-high-turnout-misleading
Russian Bank Blocks Iranian Accounts, Obama Takes Firm Nuclear Stance
Iran’s ambassador to Moscow has complained that a Russian state-controlled bank has shut down the accounts of Iranian Embassy personnel.
Seyed Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi called the bank’s move a capitulation to Western sanctions against Iran. Sajjadi said VTB-24, the retail arm of Russia’s second-largest bank VTB, had ordered the shutdown at short notice.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said the embassy’s problems with bank accounts in Moscow might be a consequence of EU and U.S. sanctions.
The United States and the EU have tightened sanctions against Iran amid a dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program, which the West fears will be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.
http://www.rferl.org/content/russia_embassy_accounts_blocked_obama_nuclear_stance/24502849.html
Iranians Go To Polls In National Elections
Iranian media say authorities have detained 10 people described as “saboteurs,” as voting in Iran’s parliamentary elections took place Friday. The Fars news agency quoted Mohammad Naqi Baqeri, head of the election security department, as saying the alleged saboteurs had “come from abroad to Tehran.”
The election is the first major Iranian vote since the disputed reelection of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in 2009, which sparked mass protests and a government crackdown on the reformist Green Movement.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose supporters are expected to do well in the vote, called for a high voter turnout as he cast his ballot.
Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, said it was a “duty and a right” for every eligible Iranian to vote.
He said a large turnout in the elections on March 2 would send a strong message to Iran’s enemies amid the nuclear standoff with the West.
“My advice is the usual advice,” he said. “I believe that this [voting] is a responsibility for us, whilst it is also a right that belongs to us. We should make use of this right and undertake this responsibility.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1020.html
Iran’s Parliamentary Elections Could Spell End For Ahmadinejad
The Iranian opposition didn’t get their wish in 2009 when they took to the streets to contest the results of Iran’s presidential election.
The disputed winner, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, drowned out calls for his ouster and has remained seated as president.
But nearly three years later, elections for the country’s 290-seat parliament could go a long way toward determining whether his remaining time in office will be spent as a lame duck.
The March 2 vote cannot unseat Ahmadinejad, of course; and with no reformist voice in the poll there is no doubt that the conservative establishment will rule the day.
But it is within that establishment that cracks have emerged, and where analysts suggest that Ahmadinejad’s opponents are poised to make gains.
Ahmadinejad’s star began to fade last year after he encroached on the domain of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whose word is what ultimately holds sway in the Islamic republic.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1019.html
Iran Elections: 48 million voters denied information, 48 journalists denied freedom
On the eve of tomorrow’s parliamentary elections in Iran, Reporters Without Borders condemns the censorship imposed on the media, which prevents them from playing their role during the polling, and the continuing, relentless crackdown on journalists.
Iran’s 48 million voters are being denied the independently-reported news and information they need to make a choice. The crackdown on journalists and netizens has intensified. No independent media has been spared the political and judicial harassment that the various ruling clans have orchestrated since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed reelection in June 2009.
A total of 48 journalists and netizens are currently detained, making Iran the world’s third biggest prison for the media.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1014.html
Could Israel Take Out Iran’s Nuclear Sites? Experts Say Perhaps, But…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comes to Washington next week to discuss his country’s heightened concern over Iran’s nuclear program. Israeli officials have warned of a possible preemptive strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, but the U.S. is trying to dissuade Israel from such action. An attack would present formidable obstacles for Israel and might only bring a temporary halt to Iranian weapons-related nuclear activity.
Israel is concerned that a window of opportunity is fast closing as Iran starts moving some of its uranium enrichment facilities to hardened underground sites. The concern has fueled talk of possible Israeli bomb and missile strikes on Iranian facilities.
Michael Eisenstadt, director of Military and Security Studies at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says Israeli aircraft could reach the Iranian targets if they know where all of them are.
“I think they have the range, they have the weapons systems, they have the ordnance that they could drop on these facilities. The question is whether they have the intelligence and whether they have the ability to impose significant enough damage to justify the risk from their point of view,” Eisenstadt said.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1017.html
Election “saboteurs” arrested
The head of security for the Tehran election committee said today: “So far 10 saboteurs who had arrived in Tehran from abroad have been arrested and are currently in custody.”
Mohammad Taghi Bagheri told the Fars News Agency: “All the individuals that were in touch with foreign elements were identified through cyber links.”
Following the 2009 presidential elections, Iranian authorities had also claimed they arrested people who “arrived from outside the country in order to disturb public order.”
Iranian security forces have continuously declared their intention to confront any form of disturbance or protest during the elections.
The head of the country’s security forces, Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam, told ILNA this week that preventive units would be deployed today, especially in areas with a history of disturbances, to assure peace and order on election day.
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/election-%E2%80%9Csaboteurs%E2%80%9D-arrested
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/world/middleeast/israels-backers-in-aipac-press-obama-to-harden-iran-policy.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2
U.S. Backers of Israel Pressure Obama Over Policy on Iran
By MARK LANDLER Published: March 3, 2012
WASHINGTON — On the eve of a crucial visit to the White House by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, that country’s most powerful American advocates are mounting an extraordinary public campaign to pressure President Obama into hardening American policy toward Iran over its nuclear program.
http://www.mo.be/opinie/het-belang-van-overbodige-verkiezingen
Het belang van overbodige verkiezingen
Parlementsverkiezingen Iran, 2 maart 2012
Het klopt niet echt met het beeld dat wij hebben van de Islamitische Republiek, maar verkiezingen zijn in Iran traditioneel periodes van felle, openbare debatten en kleurrijke campagnes. Niet zo deze week. De parlementsverkiezingen van vandaag produceren alleen een ijzige stilte. Ook internationaal wordt er bijna met geen woord gerept over deze stembusgang. Is Europa meer geïnteresseerd in het kelderen van de Iraanse economie dan in het redden van zijn democratie?
Is men in het westen al eens bezig geweest met democratie in Iran.
Dacht het niet.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-barack-obama-must-hold-his-nerve-on-iran-7542306.html
There are many alarming aspects to the escalating tension over Iran’s nuclear programme. But perhaps the most worrying of all is that every pressure on Barack Obama – be it political, economic, or, most of all, electoral – is pushing him to take a hard line. He must resist.
This week’s fractious talks between the US President and his Israeli counterpart have only added to the strain. Mr Obama attempted to set a temperate tone: blending the assurance that the US will “always have Israel’s back” with a much-needed warning about the dangers of too much “loose talk” of military conflict.
On Iran, Questions of Detection and Response Divide U.S. and Israel
When President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel met in the White House on Monday, the main subject was how to calibrate the resumption of negotiations with Iran while continuing to accelerate sanctions and sabotage against its nuclear program. But they remained divided on two central questions: If Iran decided to race for a nuclear weapon, would the West detect that in time to stop it? And even if it were detected, would an airstrike be the best option?
From the administration’s top ranks down, American officials say they would almost certainly detect a sprint to manufacture a weapon. Among the signs, they say, would be any move to evict international inspectors, satellite evidence of any testing of the kinds of conventional explosives used to develop a bomb and, quite likely, reports from the West’s contacts inside the Iranian scientific community of a change in the actions of the laboratories run by Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the Iranian believed to be leading the weaponization program.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/world/middleeast/on-iran-2-central-questions-divide-us-and-israel.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
France says Iran “two-faced”, skeptical talks can succeed
France voiced skepticism on Wednesday that a planned revival of talks between six world powers and Iran would succeed, saying Tehran still did not seem sincerely willing to negotiate on the future of its contested nuclear program.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, who represents the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany in dealings with Iran, said on Tuesday they had accepted Iran’s offer to return to talks after a standstill of a year that has seen a drift towards conflict in the oil-rich Gulf.
The talks could dampen what U.S. President Barack Obama has called a rising drumbeat of war, alluding to talk of last-resort Israeli attacks on Iran that he and many others worry would kindle a wider Middle East war and hammer the global economy.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/07/us-iran-nuclear-idUSTRE8250JB20120307?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29
U.S. Says Iranian General Instrumental In Afghan Drug Traffic
The United States has named a general in Iran’s elite Al-Quds force as a key figure in trafficking heroin from Afghanistan.
The U.S. Treasury designated General Gholamreza Baghbani, who runs the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force office in Zahedan, near the Afghan border, as a narcotics “kingpin.”
Baghbani is accused of aiding Afghan drug runners in moving opiates into and through Iran, as well helping send weapons to the Taliban.
http://www.rferl.org/content/us_says_iran_general_key_to_afghan_drug_trade/24508321.html
Iran’s Supreme Leader Sets Up Internet-Control Group
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered the creation of an Internet oversight agency that includes top official figures.
A post on Khamenei’s Twitter account said on March 7 that he had signed an executive order establishing the Cyberspace Council and appointed the president as its chair.
Iranian media reported that the new council includes powerful figures in the security establishment such as the intelligence minister and the commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_sets_up_new_internet-control_group/24508309.html
Hamas Says It Would Stay Out of Any Iran-Israel War
Hamas won’t join a regional war on the side of Iran should Israel launch a preemptive strike against nuclear targets there, one of its top officials said, a stance that limits the scope of Tehran’s expected counterstrike.
“What can Hamas do? I don’t think we would be able to do anything. This is between two countries,” said Ahmed Yousef, a Hamas official in the Gaza Strip. “Does Iran need us? Iran is a big country…they can get revenge however they like.”
The statement by Mr. Yousef—a former adviser to Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, who is close to Hamas’s political leadership—underscores a shift in one of the fundamental relationships in the Mideast.
Hamas, which the U.S. and international allies have characterized as a terrorist organization, has received support from the Shiite leadership of Iran and its ally, Syria. In the wake of the Arab Spring, Hamas is moving away from that axis and reaffirming older ties with Sunnis in the region, including Gulf Arab states and Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203961204577267153329869844.html?mod=fox_australian#articleTabs%3Dcomments
Israel Welcomes Iran Nuclear Talks, But ‘Military Option’ Remains
Israel has cautiously welcomed the possible resumption of international talks on Iran’s nuclear program, but says it will not abandon other options.
Israel’s security chief, Yaakov Amidror, told Israeli public radio on March 7 he was “very happy” talks may resume between Iran and six world powers.
But he said Israel must “prepare” for talks to fail, and said the threat of an Israeli military strike was key to persuading Tehran to renounce its nuclear program.
Amidror’s remarks follow an announcement on March 6 that Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany will return to negotiations.
http://www.rferl.org/content/israel_cautiously_welcomes_iran_nuclear_talks/24508091.html
Jailed Iranian Blogger Khazali Intensifies Hunger Strike
There is growing concern over the fate of jailed blogger Mehdi Khazali, who has reportedly been on hunger strike over his detention for some 60 days.
His defiance has turned him into a hero of Iran’s opposition movement, and Khazali vowed to continue his strike until he is released.
The opposition “Kalame” website reports that Khazali has now escalated his protest by going on a “dry hunger strike,” meaning that he is also refusing to drink liquids, on which he had been surviving since he stopped eating.
Khazali, the son of prominent hard-line cleric Ayatollah Khazali, was arrested on January 9 and later sentenced to 14 years in prison.
http://www.rferl.org/content/fears_health_hunger_striker_iran_blogger_jailed_khazali/24507945.html
Iran steps up crackdown on journalists and activists
Activist Narges Mohammadi and journalist Nazanin Khosravani each jailed for six years in Iran
So far, it has been a dreadful week for journalists and activists in Iran.
According to the opposition website, Kaleme.com, a Tehran appeals court has confirmed the jailing of prominent Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, albeit reducing it from 11 years to six.
The 39-year-old, the deputy head of Iran’s Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC), was taken seriously ill in 2010 after being kept in solitary confinement in Tehran’s Evin prison for a month. Since her arrest, she has developed an undiagnosed epilepsy-like disease which causes her to lose control over her muscles temporarily during the day.
In September 2011, she was sentenced to 11 years after being convicted on three charges: acting against the national security, membership of the DHRC and propaganda against the regime. Read Amnesty’s report on her jail sentence here.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/iran-blog/2012/mar/07/iran-arrests-journalists-activists
Wat heb ik nou gelezen van gisteren alhier Henk? Ging je ruzie maken met een blonde dame? Foei foei foei. Doen we niet meer hè? Van der Storm is van mij. Net als de rest.
Topless Iranian Women ‘Say No To Political Islam’
This video of topless Europe-based Iranian women is making the rounds. They say in the video that their nudity “is a ‘no’ to political Islam.”
The video is indeed provocative. But it’s unclear how the video or “purchas[ing] a copy of the Nude Photo Revolutionary Calendar” would actually “go towards supporting women’s rights and free expression,” as the clip states.
It follows a recent video campaign to promote a handful of actors as well as bodily and artistic freedom in which Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani appeared partially nude. That video, for the French magazine “Madame Le Figaro,” sparked heated debate among Iranians on social media after it was released in January.
http://www.rferl.org/content/topless_iranian_women_say_no_to_political_islam/24507829.html
What Do Ordinary Iranians Think About Their Nuclear Program?
What do Iranians think about their country’s nuclear program? Amid talk of possible Israeli military strikes and more tough international sanctions, Iranians inside and outside the country have gotten in touch with RFE/RL’s Radio Farda via phone and e-mail to give their views on their country’s controversial nuclear program. Here’s a sample.
“Iran is playing for time while trying to acquire nuclear weapons. It won’t acquire them, but it is creating trouble for itself and the world. The more time you give this regime, the greater treason you have committed against humanity.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_what_do_ordinary_iranians_think_of_nuclear_program/24507325.html
Isa Saharkhiz attacked by plain clothes agents and transferred to the CCU
On Tuesday afternoon several plainclothes officials attacked the room of Isa Saharkhiz in the heart care unit of the hospital. The agents used violence and caused a commotion hurling insults with abusive language towards Saharkhiz and his wife. They created a very tense and uneasy atmosphere for the visitors and also for other patients in the hospital unit.
Human Rights House of Iran reports that this attack caused the decline of the health of both Saharkhiz and his wife.
According to Mehdi Saharkhiz, the son of this journalist, “After Isa Saharkhiz got into an argument with one of his guards, he became extremely stressed and ended up being transferred to the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of the hospital. Saharkhiz had asked one of the guards to turn off the television and the guard refused to comply, ending up in an abusive confrontation. The ensuing altercation caused Saharkhiz’s blood pressure to shoot up. His face swelled up turning very red, and he had a severe coughing attack that would not subside. The physicians attempted to stabilize him by administering oxygen and medication to no avail so they transferred him to the CCU unit of the hospital. The physicians stated that Saharkhiz must be kept in a stress free environment and if he is exposed to any stress it can result in his death.”
http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=12454
Iran may be cleaning up nuke work
Satellite images of an Iranian military facility show trucks and earth-moving vehicles at the site, indicating that crews were trying to clean it of radioactive traces possibly left by tests of a nuclear-weapon trigger, diplomats told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Two of the diplomats said the crews may be trying to erase evidence of tests of a small neutron device used to set off a nuclear explosion. A third diplomat could not confirm that but said any attempt to trigger a so-called neutron initiator at the Parchin site could only be in the context of trying to develop nuclear arms.
The images, provided to the IAEA by member countries, are recent and constantly updated, said one of the diplomats.
http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?id=98821
Female students suspended over hijab violations
More than 10 female students at Iran University of Science and Technology (Elm va Sanat) have been suspended from their classes for “failure to adhere to the Islamic dress code.”
Daneshjoo News reports that the disciplinary office of University of Science and Technology recently suspended 10 female students for violating the Islamic dress code. The report indicates that between 10 and 20 students have suspended since the beginning of the winter term.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1054.html
UN Report Documents “Striking Pattern of Violations” in Iran
•Calls for Immediate Release of All Political Prisoners and Prisoners of Conscience
•Presents Allegations of Fraud in 2008 and 2009 Elections
•Calls for an Immediate Moratorium on Death Penalty
•Prominent Human Rights Defenders Sentenced to Draconian Prison Terms Just Before Release of UN Report
(7 March 2012) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran today welcomed the comprehensive report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, as a significant document that gives voice to the victims of widespread violations. The Campaign called on the Iranian government to end its absolute lack of cooperation with UN mechanisms and its systematic violations of its international obligations and to work with the Special Rapporteur to address the human rights crisis in that country.
Shaheed’s 36-page report concludes that it has “catalogued allegations that produce a striking pattern of violations of fundamental human rights.” It includes several recommendations to the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It specifically calls “for the immediate release of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience and calls upon the government to protect the space for public criticism or advocacy.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1079.html
Ahmadinejad to appear in Parliament for questioning
After months of dispute over whether the president should appear in Parliament for questioning, the administration announced that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will submit to questioning by MPs on March 14.
Parliamentary spokesman Mohsen Kohkan confirmed the date today in a report by the Fars News Agency.
A group of MPs had initiated a motion to question Ahmadinejad on a series of irregularities committed by his administration.
Resistance to the motion came from two factions: Ahmadinejad’s supporters and some of his conservative opponents, who fear he may use the platform to expose scandalous truths about the government.
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/ahmadinejad-appear-parliament-questioning
Iran to crack down on protests during fire festival
The regime in Tehran is worried about Chaharshanbe Suri, an ancient festival many Iranians exploit to show public discontent, as Shahrokh NS reports
On the eve of the last Wednesday of the Persian year (which ends on 21 March), Iranians gather to light bonfires in the streets and jump over the flames shouting: “Zardie man az to, sorkhie to az man” – meaning: “May my sickly pallor be yours and your red glow be mine.”
With this phrase, the flames symbolically take away all the unpleasant things that happened in the past year and provide hopes of enlightenment and happiness in the year to come.
Singing, dancing and eating together are also part of this fire festival, known as Chaharshanbe Suri.
But for many Iranians, this prehistoric Persian event goes far beyond being just a cultural celebration. Especially for the young, it provides an opportunity to vent frustrations at the government.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/iran-blog/2012/mar/08/iran-crackdown-protests-fire-festival
In A Switch, Iran’s Hard-Line Cyberactivists Criticize Government Censorship
Blocking online content and arresting online journalists and bloggers has long been one of the main ways the Iranian regime strikes back at critics and opponents. In recent months, though, filtering appears to have been used increasingly as a tool in the ongoing power struggle within Iran’s conservative camp.
In the weeks leading up to the March 2 parliamentary elections, which were effectively a competition between conservative factions, a number of websites supportive of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad were reportedly blocked by the country’s judiciary, which is closely aligned with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Several of the filtered websites were said to have posted comments critical of parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, who is close to Khamenei and a staunch critic of Ahmadinejad.
Mohammad Saeed Zakeri, who edits a pro-Ahmadinejad website, was detained in the preelection crackdown for purportedly writing an article critical of Larijani. His fellow journalist, Meysam Nili Nili, a writer and administrator with the hard-line “Rajanews” website, was reportedly detained in October after Larijani complained about his writing. (Reports say both men have since been released.)
The unusual effort at online censorship has been criticized by a group of hard-line cyberactivists loyal to the clerical establishment.
In an online statement, the cyberactivists said the selective filtering of hard-line content and the detentions were “irrational.” And they warned that it could damage the country’s “holy” cyberwar.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1086.html
Iranian Software Designer Saeed Malekpour In Imminent Danger Of Execution
Saeed Malekpour’s sister says his family has not heard from him in 50 days and they fear that he may be executed at any time.
The International Campaign for Human Rights reported yesterday that Maryam Malekpour, the sister of the Iranian detainee currently on death row, said: “We have not been allowed to visit him in the past 50 days and we are completely in the dark. Our letters and requests for visitations have also been left unanswered.”
Maryam Malekpour goes on to say: “Saeed’s execution may be carried out any moment. I beseech the judicial authorities of my country to stop this sentence. We have written many letters that have remained unanswered but we are still hopeful that the authorities will halt the execution.”
Malekpour, a 36-year-old software designer and an engineering graduate from Iran’s top university, Sanaati Sharif, has been under arrest for more than three years. He is charged with “propaganda against the regime by designing obscene websites, insulting sanctities, insulting the president, links to anti-government groups and corruption on earth.” In a nationally televised report, he was shown admitting to these charges. He has since declared that those confessions were coerced and that he made them under duress.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1087.html
Ahmadinejad: Iran doesn’t fear bombs and warships
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has launched a fresh tirade against the West, saying the Islamic Republic does not fear military action, Iranian media reported on Sunday.
“The Iranian nation doesn’t fear your bombs and warships and planes. Such weapons are worth nothing,” the Fars News Agency quoted him as saying on a visit to the town of Karaj, to the west ofTehran.
“You say toIran all options are on the table. Leave them there until they rot. The time of arrogance and colonialism has passed, and the era of your unreasonableness passes too.”
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-iran-ahmadinejad-warbre82a07y-20120311,0,3558460.story
Ahmadinejad likens Israel to a rotten tree
KARAJ, Alborz Province, March 11 (MNA) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that certain Western countries’ main mistake is to provide support to the “dead” Zionist regime.
Ahmadinejad made the remarks on Sunday in an address to a large number of people from all walks of life in the city of Karaj, Alborz Province, which is located in the northwest of the capital city of Tehran.
In his speech, Ahmadinejad stated that the Zionists martyr the Palestinian people, but “the Zionist regime is a dead entity which cannot be brought back to life through such efforts.”
Ahmadinejad was referring to the fact that a number of Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip on Friday and Saturday.
The Iranian president addressed the West, saying, “You have made investments and are losing face for the sake of a bunch of criminals and are not aware that the Zionist regime is like a rotten tree that you have invested in, but you will lose face.”
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1557764
Do you know what it means to be destitute?
Akbar Falahzadeh describes the deteriorating situation for workers in the Islamic Republic with ever-rising inflation, the decline of the manufacturing sector and mismanagement of the economy.
“Do you know what it means to be destitute?” This is the question on the mind of the majority of Iranian workers. The current catastrophic situation for workers is unprecedented in Iranian history.
Workers’ wages relative to inflation are now a pittance in Iran and they hardly cover family expenses. But even this low income is held back for many months. An economy based on brokerage is a stranger to manufacturing, and in such an economy there is no clear definition of labour and worker; everything is temporary and unstable. Now, when such a precarious economy is also faced with sanctions and a currency crisis, the situation becomes truly confused. Factories and workshops close one after the other, and workers are laid off. Those workshops that appear to be still functioning are facing shortages in raw material and a decline in demand. The market is flooded with low-quality Chinese goods of all kind, which leaves no room for domestic manufacturing. Domestic production costs are high and cannot compete with the heaps of low-quality foreign goods. And workers are the first victims of this haphazard situation.
Labour activists report that 80 percent of workers live below the poverty line. And their situation, mostly with spouses and children, is almost unimaginable. Providing for food and rent as well as the medical and educational needs of their children is almost impossible. It is not surprising that most of the people who sell their kidneys are from such families. It is hard to believe that the workers at the Mazandaran textile factory have not been paid for 16 months, but unfortunately it is true. The director of the Worker’s House of Mazandaran says workers gathered in front of the governor’s office to protest their situation but made no headway.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1105.html
Iran slams UN human rights report
Iranian authorities have denounced the recent report of the United Nation’s special human rights rapporteur for Iran.
Justice Minister Morteza Bakhtiyari described Ahmad Shaheed’s report as an “unforgivable injustice” and, in an interview with the Fars News Agency, accused the UN rapporteur on human rights of being dishonest.
Ahmad Shaheed released his latest report on the situation of human rights in Iran on March 6, in time for the 19th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva,
Shaheed claimed his report has “catalogued allegations that produce a striking pattern of violations of fundamental human rights.” In the report, he calls for further investigation into the testimony he has collected.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1107.html
Mothers of Laleh Park denounce persecution of activists
The Mothers of Laleh Park and their supporters have issued a statement challenging the Iranian judiciary’s harsh sentencing of human rights activists.
Zamaneh reports that the Mothers of Laleh Park released a statement saying: “While the possibility of a humane life is evaporating for Iranian people and especially freedom seekers, the criminals are rising in stature, and there are no fair courts answerable to the people.”
The statement refers to the severe sentences recently handed to human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani and the deputy head of the Human Rights Defenders Centre, Nargess Mohammad, contrasting their judicial fate with that of Saeed Mortazavi, the notorious former Tehran Prosecutor. He was removed from his position after the scandalous torture and death of detainees at the Kahrizak Detention Centre came to light.
The Mothers of Laleh Park write: “Judge Mortazavi, whose many crimes are common knowledge, was dismissed after his offences regarding Kahrizak were revealed. But not only did he not stand trial, he was instead appointed as head of the task force against drug trafficking. And now he is being appointed to the helm of the Organization for Social Security.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1093.html
Iran en Azerbeidzjan worden steeds vijandiger voor elkaar. Misschien wil Iran het eurovisie songfestival wel opblazen als wraak voor de europese sancties. Dat zou dan de eerste fatsoenlijke daad zijn in jaren.
http://www.ed.nl/nieuws/algemeen/buitenland/10661378/Azerbeidzjan%3A-Iraans-complot-verijdeld.ece
Iran’s banks to be blocked from global banking system
Swift, the body that handles global banking transactions, says it will cut Iran’s banks out of the system on Saturday to enforce sanctions.
The move will isolate Iran financially by making it almost impossible for money to flow in and out of the country via official banking channels.
It will hit its oil industry, but may also have a heavy impact on Iranians who live abroad and send money home.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17390456
Iran’s President Unfazed in Parliamentary Grilling
Lawmakers in Iran subjected the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to an unprecedented interrogation on Wednesday, questioning his economic policies, cabinet appointments and tense relationship with the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a publicly broadcast parliamentary session that seemed intended to humiliate the president in the final few years of his tenure.
The hourlong interrogation, carried live on Iran state radio, was the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that an Iranian president had been required to appear before lawmakers to answer their questions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/world/middleeast/iran-ahmadinejad-questioned-before-parliament-majlis.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
BBC Accuses Iran Of Cyberattack
The BBC has suggested that a cyberattack against it on March 1 was part of Iranian efforts to disrupt the BBC’s Persian Service, which along with other foreign broadcasters has long proved an irritant to the clerically dominated regime.
The BBC reports that its director general, Mark Thompson, plans to level the charges against Iran in an upcoming speech to Britain’s Royal Television Society.
In an advance extract from the speech, Thompson reportedly says the Internet attack coincided with efforts to jam two of the BBC Persian Service’s satellite feeds into Iran.
http://www.rferl.org/content/bbc_accuses_iran_cyberattack/24516143.html
Azerbaijan arrests 22 people ‘spying for Iran’
Security ministry says suspects had links with Revolutionary Guards and alleged targets included US and Israeli embassies
The authorities in Azerbaijan have arrested 22 Azeri citizens suspected of spying for Iran and plotting to attack western embassies and companies, the National Security Ministry has said.
The arrests happened two months after two men were detained in Azerbaijan, Iran’s northern neighbour, on suspicion of plotting to attack foreigners including the Israeli ambassador and a rabbi, and after bomb plots in India, Thailand and Georgia that Israel blamed on Tehran.
The ministry said those arrested had links with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (Sepah) and their alleged targets included the US and Israeli embassies as well as the British oil firm BP.
Azerbaijan, a secular Muslim country, is home to more than 9,000 Jews and has friendly ties with Israel and the US. A major energy producer, it exports oil to Israel and imports weapons and military hardware.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/14/azerbaijan-arrests-suspects-spying-iran
Iran’s War in Gaza
This time, it’s not Hamas firing rockets into Israel — it’s Iranian proxies seeking to create havoc.
Israeli jets pounded the Gaza Strip on March 12 in the latest volley of fire since violence broke out late last week. But they were not fighting Hamas, Israel’s traditional bête noire in Gaza. Though radical factions have now fired more than 200 rockets into Israel, the self-described Islamic Resistance Movement has yet to claim responsibility for a single attack. It may be the first time the organization has refused to lead the charge to battle against Israel.
Hamas has a different fight on its hands. Iran, through the use of its proxies, is fomenting instability in Gaza that it is ill-equipped to handle. Indeed, Tehran is punishing Gaza’s de facto rulers for leaving their long-standing alliance.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/03/13/iran_s_war_in_gaza
IEA Says Iran Oil Exports Could Fall 50 Percent
The International Energy Agency (IEA) claims that Iranian oil exports could fall by as much as 50 percent in July, when European sanctions over that country’s nuclear program take full effect.
The IEA said in a report issued on March 14 that Iranian crude output fell to 3.38 million barrels per day last month, the lowest level in at least three years, and that exports were below 2 million barrels, down from 2.6 million in November.
The head of the IEA’s market and industry division, David Fyfe, said that when European sanctions come into effect, Iranian oil exports will fall by some 800,000 barrels a day.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_oil_european_union_sanctions/24516060.html
Nothing Comes Between Iranians And Their Satellite Dishes — Not Even The Police
For years now, the authorities in Iran have tried to crack down on the use of satellite dishes, which give Iranians access to foreign channels. The dishes are banned in the Islamic republic. Police officers spend a considerable amount of time searching for them, dismantling them, and confiscating them. (See a YouTube video here of one such “dismantling.”)
But it appears that Iran’s war on satellite dishes is a losing one. Neither police raids nor stiff fines have been able to stop Iranians from watching their favorite shows.
http://www.rferl.org/content/persian_letters_satellite_dishes_iran_police/24514665.html
India’s Growing Ties To Iranian Oil Could Bust U.S. Sanctions
Last week Jaipal Reddy, India’s oil minister, reportedly told parliament, “We respect U.N. sanctions, but will not honor any other sanction.” Adding, “We have cordial relations with Iran and we continue to import oil from them.” India buys some 300,000 bbl per day of Iranian crude (about 10% of its needs) worth roughly $12 billion a year.
Furthermore, according to the Thai News Service, senior Indian officials said this week “that the country will not reduce its imports from Iran and urged Washington not to make an example of Delhi.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2012/03/15/obama-plans-to-tap-spr-but-indias-growing-ties-to-iranian-oil-could-bust-u-s-sanctions/?feed=rss_europe
Iranian Labor Minister may be impeached over controversial appointment
A number of MPs have signed a motion to impeach Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare Abdolreza Sheikholeslami over his decision to appoint former Tehran prosecutor general Saeed Mortazavi as the director of the Social Security Organization.
MP Elyas Naderan made the announcement during a speech at an open session of the Majlis on Wednesday.
However, Mortazavi has not yet been appointed to the post.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1150.html
“Enemies of the Internet”: Iran
The announced launching of Iran’s “National Internet” has been widely covered in the media. Meanwhile the authorities have fortified filtering and their technical capacity to closely monitor the Web. Individuals and groups alike have been arrested in order to identify and neutralize dissident networks and intimate bloggers and journalists. For the first time, four netizens have been given the death penalty, and three of them may be executed at any time. Iran’s already harsh repression has become even more brutal.
Sentenced to death for their online activities
This is the first time that netizens have been sentenced to death. On January 29, 2012, the Iranian Farsnews agency, with close ties to the Guardians of the Revolution, confirmed the sentencing to death of Web developer Saeed Malekpour, a permanent resident of Canada, for “anti-government agitation” and “insulting Islam.”
In early 2012, Iran’s Supreme Court also confirmed the death sentence for IT student Vahid Asghari and website administrator Ahmadreza Hashempour. The Revolutionary Court’s Fifteenth Chamber informed Web developer and humorist Mehdi Alizadeh that he had been sentenced to death.
These four netizens, who are between 25 and 40, are victims of a plot orchestrated by the Center for the Surveillance of Organized Crime, an entity created illegally in 2008 by the Revolutionary Guards. Under torture, the accused admitted having links with websites that criticize Islam and the Iranian government, and to having intended to “mislead” Iranian youth by distributing pornographic content. They were also forced to confess to participating in a plot backed by the United States and Israel.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1129.html
Gonabadi dervish arrested again
Kasra Nouri, a member of Gonabad Dervishes who was recently released from prison has been once more arrested by Islamic Republic security forces.
Majzooban Noor website reports that Kasra Nouri was arrested at his home and his charges appear to be “giving interviews to foreign radios.”
Nouri was recently released after 46 days of detention by the Intelligence Office in Shiraz Central Prison on bail.
After his release, in an interview with Radio Farda, Nouri spoke of the harsh conditions in the prisons and the criticized the treatment of inmates by Islamic Republic officials.
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/gonabadi-dervish-arrested-again
Ayatollah Rafsanjani retains leadership of Expediency Council
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has been reappointed as the head of Iran’s Expediency Council by the order of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
The reappointment of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani was significant in view of the widespread attacks against the Hashemi family in the past two years. Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani was removed from his position as the head of the Assembly of Experts after the controversial presidential elections of 2009 because he was seen as supporting the opponents of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who in effect had been endorsed by the Supreme Leader.
Ayatollah Khamenei implicitly attacked Hashemi Rafsanjani in the aftermath of the election protests for refusing to condemn the street demonstrations and for calling for a recount.
Ayatollah Rafsanjani’s daughter, Faezeh Rafsanjani, has been arrested and prosecuted for taking part in the election protests.
Ayatollah Khamenei also removed opposition leader MirHosein Mousavi from the Expediency Council.
Mousavi, who was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s opponent in the 2009 presidential election, has been under house arrest with his wife Zahra Rahnavard since February of 2011.
He was appointed to the Expediency Council by the late leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini, and had been an official member of this government body since 1988.
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/ayatollah-rafsanjani-retains-leadership-expediency-council
Even weinig tijd om deze draad bij te houden maar Ik wil me er niet helemaal van onthouden.
EU Expands Iran Sanctions
European Union foreign ministers agreed Friday to add 17 Iranians to its sanctions list for human rights abuses, and also signed off on a legal text that details how they will implement an oil embargo on Iran.
Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Friday that she will announce in the “coming days” a time and place for talks with Iran on its nuclear program to start. Diplomats say that is likely to be in mid-April.
Those individuals targeted by sanctions related to human rights abuses will be subject to a travel ban and asset freeze. The 17 new people added Friday take to 78 the total number of Iranians targeted for abuses. Ministers also extended by a year the human rights sanctions, to April 13, 2013. The list of individuals will be published Saturday, the EU said.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304724404577299322640338092.html?mod=fox_australian
Nuclear weapons conference could bring Iran and Israel together
Ban on weapons of mass destruction in Middle East would be discussed at meeting planned for December
Hoe komen ze erop, Iran en Israel dichter bij elkaar.
A historic conference bringing Iran and Israel together with Arab states to discuss a ban on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in the Middle East is scheduled to take place in Helsinki in December, it has emerged.
The Finnish organisers of the UN-backed bid to establish a zone free of weapons of mass destruction are said to be cautiously optimistic that the conference will go ahead despite high tensions in the Gulf.
The Finnish team has held about 70 meetings with officials in the region and made repeated trips to Israel and Iran since the veteran diplomat Jaakko Laajava was appointed “facilitator” of the consensus in October. So far, none of the countries invited to Helsinki has turned the invitation down.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/23/nuclear-weapons-conference-iran-israel
What Do Ordinary Iranians Think About Their Nuclear Program?
What do Iranians think about their country’s nuclear program? Amid talk of possible Israeli military strikes and more tough international sanctions, Iranians inside and outside the country have gotten in touch with RFE/RL’s Radio Farda via phone and e-mail to give their views on their country’s controversial nuclear program. Here’s a sample.
“Iran is playing for time while trying to acquire nuclear weapons. It won’t acquire them, but it is creating trouble for itself and the world. The more time you give this regime, the greater treason you have committed against humanity.”
“Is it possible to be Iranian and not want nuclear energy? Nuclear energy has become a matter of prestige, even if we have to pay a price for it. You have access to nuclear energy; it’s our right, too. Yes, we want a nuclear bomb. Who wants to stop us?”
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_what_do_ordinary_iranians_think_of_nuclear_program/24507325.html
Iranian weapons help Bashar Assad put down Syria protests, officials say
Iran is providing a broad array of assistance to Syrian President Bashar Assad to help him suppress anti-government protests, from high-tech surveillance technology to guns and ammunition, U.S. and European security officials say.
Tehran’s technical assistance to Assad’s security forces includes electronic surveillance systems, technology designed to disrupt efforts by protesters to communicate via social media, and Iranian-made drone aircraft for overhead surveillance, the officials said. They discussed intelligence matters on condition of anonymity.
http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/24/10842227-iranian-weapons-help-bashar-assad-put-down-syria-protests-officials-say
Special Report: Chinese firm helps Iran spy on citizens
A Chinese telecommunications equipment company has sold Iran’s largest telecom firm a powerful surveillance system capable of monitoring landline, mobile and internet communications, interviews and contract documents show.
The system was part of a 98.6 million euro ($130.6 million) contract for networking equipment supplied by Shenzhen, China-based ZTE Corp to the Telecommunication Co of Iran (TCI), according to the documents. Government-controlled TCI has a near monopoly on Iran’s landline telephone services and much of Iran’s internet traffic is required to flow through its network.
The ZTE-TCI deal, signed in December 2010, illustrates how despite tightening global sanctions, Iran still manages to obtain sophisticated technology, including systems that can be used to crack down on dissidents.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/special-report-chinese-firm-helps-115050927.html
Telecom companies retreat from Iranian dealings
The Chinese telecommunications company ZTE has announced that it will reduce trade with Iran, after a Reuters report on Thursday revealed that it has sold a powerful surveillance system to Iran that’s capable of monitoring telephone and internet communications.
The Reuters report indicated that ZTE, the second-largest Chinese telecom equipment maker, had signed a $130-million contract with Iran in 2010, which included the delivery of the powerful surveillance system.
On Friday, ZTE spokesman David Shu said in an interview: “We are going to curtail our business in Iran.”
Reuters also alleges that the “Packing List” for the ZTE contract with Iran includes several American hardware and software products, despite a longstanding U.S. ban on selling such products to Iran.
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/telecom-companies-retreat-iranian-dealings
Opposition leader sends message of resistance
Detained opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi was allowed a visit from his family on the occasion of Iranian New Year celebrations.
Karroubi, who was visited by his sons and wife after four months of complete isolation, has been under house arrest since February of 2011 and is currently being held in a small apartment where the visit took place, according to Saham News.
Hossein Karroubi wrote about the visit on his Facebook page, saying they spent about 12 hours with his father on Tuesday, the first day of the New Year.
According to Hossein Karroubi, this was the first visit with his father that was not supervised by security officials. He also indicates that they discussed several issues around the country’s political situation.
http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/opposition-leader-sends-message-resistance
U.S. Targets Iran Arms Shipments
On March 27, the Treasury Department designated an Iranian airline and officials for exporting lethal aid to the Levant and Africa. The following is the Treasury Department’s statement.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced the designation of the Iranian cargo airline, Yas Air; Behineh Trading; three Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) officials; and one Nigerian shipping agent – all pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 for acting for or on behalf of, or providing support to, the IRGC-QF, a designated terrorist entity.
The airline, the trading company and the IRGC-QF officials were involved, respectively, in shipments of weapons to the Levant and Africa, further demonstrating Iran’s determination to evade international sanctions and export violence and instability throughout the Middle East and beyond.
“Today’s action again exposes Iran’s malign influence in the Middle East, Africa and beyond. As the Iranian regime exports its lethal aid and expertise to foment violence in Syria and Africa, Treasury will continue to expose the officials and companies involved and work to hold them accountable for the suffering they cause,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen.
http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2012/mar/27/us-targets-iran-arms-shipments
2 Israeli Leaders Make the Iran Issue Their Own
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have turned into the odd couple of Israeli politics in whose hands sits the prospect of an attack on Iran. From opposite political traditions with distinct experiences and worldviews, the two have forged a tight bond, often excluding the rest of the Israeli leadership.
For Mr. Netanyahu, an Iranian nuclear weapon would be the 21st-century equivalent of the Nazi war machine and the Spanish Inquisition — the latest attempt to destroy the Jews. Preventing that is the mission of his life. For Mr. Barak, who spurns talk of a second Holocaust and fear for Israel’s existence, it is a challenge about strategy: “zones of immunity” and “red lines,” the operational details of an assault on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/28/world/middleeast/netanyahu-and-barak-bond-over-israels-iran-crisis.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
Transcript of video: One Iranian lawyer’s fight against capital punishment
Transcript to go with an animated video telling the extraordinary story of Mohammad Mostafaei
Mohammad Mostafaei’s words – spoken by actor Paul Bettany
Growing up, my childhood was not easy. We were very poor, so my father forced me to work long, hard hours. He suffered from terrible mood swings. He was always shouting at me. Some days it just became too much. But there is one day that I will always remember. I was 14, cleaning the windows. I saw a notice for a public execution. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I imagined how the criminal might look – big and strong and dangerous. The execution date arrived. I squeezed my way through the crowd. I was so shocked. There was no strong, dangerous man, only a very young man trembling as he awaited his fate. He was so young that he hardly had any stubble. I couldn’t watch. As I looked back, the boy’s body was hanging, limp and lifeless. He had fair hair just like me. That experience motivated me to pursue law.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/28/mohammad-mostafaei-video-transcript
Christians unite, help save pastor
Never thought I’d find myself being on the same page with the cussin’ and foul-mouthed Democratic commentator Bob Beckel, but I’m making an exception for this one time only. And the reason? On a recent broadcast of the Fox News program, “The Five,” Beckel floored me when he stood up for the Iranian Christian pastor, Yousef Nadarkhani, who is scheduled to be executed for nothing more than preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. At this writing he could be executed any day.
Beckel is widely known for his far-left rantings and hatred for the right-wing but this time he had it all together. If bellicose Bob can make a commitment to this most heart-rending and worthy cause, then I think that all of us need to get on board with trying to save pastor Yousef. What Bob did was not in his best interest career-wise but he did it, and I think he is to be commended.
http://www.dailyadvance.com/opinion/letters/letter-christians-unite-help-save-pastor-1004813
Could bombing Iran push it to build the bomb?
Pre-emptive military strikes aimed at forcing Iran to abandon its nuclear activities may end up having the opposite effect: convincing the Islamic Republic’s leaders they need an atomic arsenal to secure their hold on power.
That is the argument from those in the West and elsewhere who say the negative impact of an Israeli or U.S. attack would eventually outweigh any gains -- pushing Iran towards a decision that Western intelligence services believe it has not yet taken.
“It is difficult to see a single action more likely to drive Iran into taking the final decision to acquire nuclear weapons than an attack on the country,” the foreign ministers of Sweden and Finland said in an opinion piece in the New York Times.
http://www.jewishjournal.com/world/article/could_bombing_iran_push_it_to_build_the_bomb_20120328/
Jailed Iranian journalists given temporary release
Jailed journalists Ahmad Zeidabadi and Mehdi Mahmoudian were given a furlough to spend Norooz New Year celebrations with their families. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that the two reformist journalists were released late Tuesday from Rejaishahr Prison in Karaj.
Zeidabadi was an advisor to reformist candidate Mehdi Karroubi in the 2009 presidential elections and he was arrested in June of 2009, at the start of the widespread protests triggered by allegations of vote fraud.
He has been sentenced to six years in jail, exile to Gonabad and a ban from journalism and social activities.
Zeidabadi is the winner of the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom award, given to him by UNESCO in 2011, and the winner of the Golden Pen of Freedom by the World Association of Newspapers.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1260.html
Rights group accuses IRGC office
Justice for Iran says the IRGC’s Center to Investigate Organized Crime should be put on the international list of human rights violators. The human rights organization has published a new report entitled “Gerdab: A Dictated Scenario” that details the role of the IRGC’s Center to Investigate Organized Crime (Cyber Crime Office) in violating human rights in Iran.
The IRGC’s Center to Investigate Organized Crime was established in 2007 to work on its first project, dubbed “Gerdab” (Whirlpool). It resulted in the termination of 90 Persian pornographic websites and the arrest of 45 people accused of producing such sites.
Justice for Iran reports that in recorded confessions later aired on television, the detainees were seen admitting they intended to attack “the cultural basis of the Islamic Republic through corrupting and driving the youth from the right path as well as having political agendas against the government or Islam and receiving money from the American government to establish and produce pornographic content.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1243.html
“I Am Not a Criminal. I Will Not Request Pardon,” Says Narges Mohammadi
Narges Mohammadi, the deputy director of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC) who was sentenced to six years in prison on 5 March by an appeals court, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that she did not request a pardon, as all DHRC activities were based on the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In October 2011, Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Mohammadi to 11 years in prison on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security,” “membership in the Defenders of Human Rights Center,” and “propagating against the regime.” Branch 54 of Tehran Appeals Court later reduced her sentence to six years in prison. Mohammadi’s lawyer was informed of her sentence two months after it had been issued.
The now-banned Defenders of Human Rights Center was founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, Abdolfattah Soltani, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, Mohammad Seifzadeh, and Mohammad Sharif. Security forces closed the center in 2008 and have since targeted many of its members, including Narges Mohammadi.
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1244.html
Israelis and Iranians are Natural Allies
The regime of Iran pretends that there is a deep hostility between Iranians and Israelis. On the other side, the regime of Iran has been trying to prove that the Iranian people care about Palestinians in a special way (let say different from their feeling about the Chechens in Russia). Both of these claims are baseless and wrong. Iranians do not feel any hostility towards Israelis and Iranians have no special place in their hearts for the Palestinians.
Iranians had a great role in the ancient history of the Jews. The name of Cyrus the great is mentioned many times in the Old Testament. Cyrus freed the Jews while they were living in exile and under captivity in Babylon. He let them return to Jerusalem and helped them to build their main temple. The dates of these events are occasions for some of the most important celebrations of the Jews. This is also a source of great honor for Iranians as the flag bearers of the religious tolerance, human rights, and respect for the “others”. In addition to these historical relations, there are many similarities between Iran and Israel, such as:
1- Iran, like Israel, is a non-Arab country in the Middle East. Amir Taheri, a prominent Iranian journalist, has mentioned in his article: “If Israel had never appeared on the map, the energy of the pan-Arab nationalism movement, which dominated Arab politics in the post-war era, would have been directed against two other neighbors: Turkey and Iran. To a certain extent, it was anyway. Even today, the Arab League claims that the Turkish province of Iskanderun is ‘usurped Arab territory’ and regards the Iranian province of Khuzestan as ‘occupied Arab land’.”
2- Iran and Israel both follow a religion that is different from the Arabs. Israelis are mostly Jews, and Iranians are mostly Shiite (Sunni do not consider Shiites as a branch of Islam in many Arab countries). Iranians are not serious Muslims (compare the behaviors of Iranians to the people of the Arab countries) and it is accepted by some researchers that Shiite sect was “invented” by Iranians as a kind of instrument to be different from the Sunni Arabs.
3- Iran, like Israel, is accused by the Arabs for being an occupier of the Arab lands. The case of Israel is clear and the case of Iran is related to the three Islands in the Persian Gulf that the UAE has put a claim on them. (The UAE did not exist before 1971).
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1246.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2121266/America-Iran-Why-Obama-won-t-end-war-words.html
Why Obama won’t end this war of words
PUBLISHED: 22:31 GMT, 27 March 2012 | UPDATED: 22:33 GMT, 27 March 2012
The Middle East has become the most dangerous region in the world.
There is a constant trickle of grim news from Afghanistan, of near civil war in Iraq, of simmering tensions between the Palestinians and Israel, of rising hostility from Pakistan towards the Americans and, topping the list, fear of a military conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
We like to assume that both sides, certainly the U.S., are working hard for a peaceful solution.
Sadly, this is not so. Both President Obama and President Ahmadinejad now have an interest in keeping the crisis going.
http://www.mo.be/artikel/israel-vertelt-bevolking-niet-hele-waarheid-over-iraanse-raketten
Israël vertelt bevolking niet hele waarheid over Iraanse raketten
TEL AVIV
,
30 maart 2012
De Israëlische bevolking ligt niet wakker van een eventuele aanval op Iran, maar een wraakactie van dat land is veel destructiever dan de regering-Netanyahu doet voorkomen, vinden deskundigen.
De nauwkeurigheid van Iraanse raketten is tegenwoordig niet meer een paar kilometer, maar een paar meter. En dat is “slecht nieuws” voor Israël, zegt Uzi Rubin, hoofd van het Israëlische antiraketsysteem in de jaren negentig, in een interview. Iran zou volgens hem economische doelen kunnen uitschakelen. “Ik vraag mijn militaire vrienden wat ze ervan vinden om oorlog te voeren zonder elektriciteit.” De mogelijkheid om overheidsgebouwen uit te schakelen is misschien nog wel ernstiger: “Als de regering instort, wordt het voor het leger wel heel moeilijk.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/31/business/global/obama-to-clear-way-to-expand-iranian-oil-sanctions.html?_r=1&emc=na
WASHINGTON — After careful analysis of oil prices and months of negotiations, President Obama on Friday determined that there was sufficient oil in world markets to allow countries to significantly reduce their Iranian imports, clearing the way for Washington to impose severe new sanctions intended to slash Iran’s oil revenue and press Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
The White House announcement comes after months of back-channel talks to prepare the global energy market to cut Iran out — but without raising the price of oil, which would benefit Iran and harm the economies of the United States and Europe.