Senators Warn Against War With Iran

Senators Warn Against War With Iran

Republican and Democratic senators warned Tuesday against a drift toward war with an emboldened Iran and suggested the Bush administration was missing a chance to engage its longtime adversary in potentially helpful talks over next-door Iraq.

"What I think many of us are concerned about is that we stumble into active hostilities with Iran without having aggressively pursued diplomatic approaches, without the American people understanding exactly what's taking place," Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., told John Negroponte, who is in line to become the nation's No. 2 diplomat as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's deputy.

Obama, a candidate for president in 2008, warned during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that senators of both parties will demand "clarity and transparency in terms of U.S. policy so that we don't repeat some of the mistakes that have been made in the past," a reference to the faulty intelligence underlying the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., a possible presidential candidate, asked Negroponte if he thinks the United States is edging toward a military confrontation with Tehran. In response, Negroponte repeated President Bush's oft-stated preference for diplomacy, although he later added, "We don't rule out other possibilities."

Separately, the Navy admiral poised to lead American forces in the Middle East said Iran wants to limit America's influence in the region.

"They have not been helpful in Iraq," Adm. William Fallon told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It seems to me that in the region, as they grow their military capabilities, we're going to have to pay close attention to what they do and what they may bring to the table."

The Bush administration has increased rhetorical, diplomatic, military and economic pressure on Iran over the past few months, in response to Iran's alleged deadly help for extremists fighting U.S. troops in Iraq and the long-running dispute over Iran's nuclear program.

Bush said Tuesday the United States "will deal with it" if Iran escalates military action inside Iraq and endangers American forces. But, in an interview with ABC News, Bush emphasized this talk signals no intention of invading Iran itself.
A day earlier, the president acknowledged skepticism concerning U.S. intelligence about Iran, because Washington was wrong in accusing Iraq of harboring weapons of mass destruction before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. "I'm like a lot of Americans that say, 'Well, if it wasn't right in Iraq, how do you know it's right in Iran,'" the president said.
Washington accuses Iran of arming and training Shiite Muslim extremists in Iraq. U.S. troops have responded by arresting Iranian diplomats in Iraq, and the White House has said Bush has authorized U.S. troops to kill or capture Iranians inside Iraq.
The United States also accuses Iran of secretly developing atomic weapons — an allegation Tehran denies. Iran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment lead the U.N. Security Council to impose limited economic sanctions.
Senators including Hagel, George Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del., sounded frustrated with the administration's decision not to engage Iran and fellow outcast Syria in efforts to reduce sectarian violence in Iraq.

Negroponte, a career diplomat who is leaving a higher-ranked job as the nation's top intelligence official, gave only a mild endorsement of the administration's diplomatic hands-off policy toward Damascus and Tehran.

Negroponte would lead the department's Iraq policy if confirmed, as expected. He said Syria is letting 40 to 75 foreign fighters cross its border into Iraq each month and repeated the charge that Iran is providing lethal help to insurgents fighting U.S. forces in Iraq. Iran and Syria are not helping promote stability and peace in Iraq and understand what the United States and other nation expect of them.

"I would never want to say never with respect to initiating a high-level dialogue with either of these two countries, but that's the position, as I understand it, at this time," Negroponte said.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to approve Negroponte quickly for a job vacant since July.

Iran's Ayatollah Montazeri urges open politics

Iran's Ayatollah Montazeri urges open politics

LONDON, January 28 (IranMania) - Iran's top dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri has urged Islamic republic officials to release political prisoners and open the political arena to opponents of the regime, AFP reported.
"Now that the country faces international pressure, is it not better to avoid extremism and open the political space?" Montazeri asked in a Friday meeting with members of an NGO to defend prisoners' rights.

"Unfortunately there are still academics, students, intellectuals and ordinary people jailed for false or political reasons. The wise thing to do is to release them in these sensitive times," he said according to a statement obtained by AFP.

Iran is under mounting international pressure over its controversial nuclear programme. In December the UN Security Council passed a resolution imposing sanctions on Iran for its repeated refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.

"Unfortunately we do not use our opponents, among whom there are committed people and experts, under the pretext that they are not insiders," he said.

"I hope the officials wake up before it is too late and stop monopolization" of power."
It is the second time this month that Montazeri, who was once appointed to succeed the founder of the Islamic revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, is criticising Islamic republic policies.

He hit out at President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over his handling of foreign and domestic policies including Tehran's nuclear drive -- joining critical voices from conservatives and reformists against the president after his allies were defeated in December 15 key elections.
One of the main architects of the Islamic republic, 84-year-old Montazeri was tapped as the successor Khomeini but fell from grace in late 1980s after he became too openly critical of political and cultural restrictions.
He was put under house arrest in 1997 and was freed in January 2003 on health grounds.
American officials describe those measures as purely defensive. “We are definitely looking to protect our interests in the Persian Gulf, in Iraq itself, and to protect the lives of our soldiers,” said Mr. Burns, who insisted that there was no effort to stop Iran from ordinary exchanges with Iraq.

Yet administration officials clearly worry that the Iranians may not back down, and that a confrontation could build up — especially if a midlevel American commander or a member of Iran’s military or paramilitary forces in Iraq miscalculated. Both Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates have warned against that risk, officials say.
Administration officials say that while all of Mr. Bush’s advisers have signed on to the strategy of more forceful confrontation with Tehran, there is considerable debate about how far to push it. Some Iran experts at the State Department have warned that encounters between Americans and Iranians inside Iraq could strengthen the hand of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by allowing him to change the subject from his failure to produce jobs and the rising cost of nuclear defiance.

Over the longer run, there is a continuing debate about whether military action may some day be necessary to set back Iran’s nuclear activities. For now American officials say they do not believe they have a good set of targets or the ability to contain Iran’s reaction. “It’s not a question of ideology,” one senior military official said, refusing to talk on the record about military planning. “We simply don’t have the forces to deal with the reaction. They’re busy.”
At the Pentagon, military officials say there are still arguments over the rules for confronting Iranian operatives. Are they legitimate targets simply because they are identified as part of Iran’s military? Or do American forces need evidence that they are importing weapons or sowing chaos? Publicly, officials say the answers to those questions are classified. Privately, a senior official said, “It’s all still a matter of debate.”

In coming weeks, administration officials say, more escalation is likely. The Iranians have told the International Atomic Energy Agency that they will announce in February that they are beginning industrial-scale efforts to produce uranium. It will probably be years before they can produce enough fuel for a bomb.

But the debate over whether the United States should stick to diplomacy or take more forceful action is bound to begin right away, and will sound familiar. Democrats, even while accusing the administration of failing to engage with Iran, are positioning themselves to sound tough.
“To ensure that Iran never gets nuclear weapons, we need to keep all options on the table,” former Senator John Edwards recently told an Israeli security conference. “Let me reiterate, all options.”

For Mr. Bush, this is not only about options but about legacy. Already bloodied in Iraq, he will come under increasing pressure to show that he has not left the United States weakened in the Middle East. He does not want to be remembered for leaving Iran more powerful than he found it when he came to office.

SAUDI KING SAYS IRAN PUTTING REGION IN DANGER

Saudi King Says Iran Putting Region in Danger

January 27, 2007 Reuters Khaleej Times Online

RIYADH -- Saudi Arabia told an Iranian envoy this month that Shia power Iran was putting the Gulf region in danger, in a reference to Iran’s conflict with Washington over Iraq and nuclear policy, a newspaper said. In the interview in Kuwait’s Al Seyassah on Saturday, King Abdullah also issued a veiled warning to Iran to quit what he said were efforts to spread Shi’ism in the Sunni-dominated Arab world.
The United States and its key ally Saudi Arabia accuse Iran of ‘interference’ in Iraq, through backing Shia militias and parties, and suspect Teheran is developing a covert nuclear weapons programme -- a charge Iran denies. ‘Saudi leaders and the Saudi state have always known their limits in dealing with nations, east and west. I explained this to Ali Larijani and advised him to pass it on to his government and its followers, with regard to foreign dealings,’ he said.

‘The dangers it (Iranian government) could fall into will fall upon all of us.’ Saudi sources have said Larijani, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, visited Riyadh this month to seek help with Washington and reassure Saudi Arabia over the nuclear programme. King Abdullah also appeared to accuse Iran of exploiting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for its own ends. ‘The Arabs alone should solve the issue of Palestine ... We don’t want anyone to trade in our issues and become stronger through them,’ he said.

Iran is backing Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas, which is conflict with Western countries because it refuses to recognise Israel before entering into peace negotiations. It also backs Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah, which is leading a popular campaign to bring down the Western-backed government.

Arab states have had difficulty persuading the United States to restart peace talks leading to a state for the Palestinians. King Abdullah also said efforts to spread Shi’ism in the Arab world would fail. Leading Sunni clerics have said in recent months that Iran is promoting Shia belief in Arab countries. ‘We are following this issue and we are aware of the extent of Shia proselytism and how far it has got,’ the king said. ‘But we don’t think it will achieve its goal because the huge majority of Muslims who are Sunnis would not change their faith and sect ... We know our role as the state where the message (of Islam) began,’ he said.

Bush authorizes U.S. troops to kill Iranian agents in Iraq

WASHINGTON: American soldiers will do what they must to protect themselves from Iranian agents operating inside Iraq, the White House said Friday, following a report that President George W. Bush had authorized the killing of Iranian agents.

"If our troops get actionable intelligence that agents are going to cause our troops or Iraqi citizens harm, they're going to take whatever force protections that are necessary," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Agency.

Bush said Friday that "it just makes sense that if somebody is trying to harm our troops or stop us from achieving our goal, or killing innocent citizens in Iraq, that we will stop them.""And so, yeah, we're going to continue to protect ourselves in Iraq and at the same time work to solve our problems with Iran diplomatically," Bush went on. "And I believe we can succeed."But Bush said any notion that the United States wanted to widen its military campaign beyond the borders of Iraq "simply is not accurate."

The president and his top aides have said several times in recent weeks that there are no plans to pursue Iranian agents into Iran.But more questions about the campaign in Iraq, and in particular whether it includes a more aggressive approach to Iraq's neighbor Iran, seem certain after a report in The Washington Post on Friday.The newspaper reported that the Bush administration had authorized the American military to kill or capture Iranian operatives inside Iraq as part of a new strategy to weaken Tehran's influence in the Middle East and to give up its nuclear ambitions.The Post said lethal force against Iranians was not known to have been used to date.

But the newspaper did say that dozens of suspected Iranian agents had been detained over the past year for three to four days at a time under a "catch and release" policy intended to avoid increasing tensions with Iran.Johndroe took issue with The Post's description of the administration's approach. He acknowledged that two Iranians had been detained in highly publicized incidents, and added that "Iranians with diplomatic immunity were released."

He did not say how many, nor would he comment on The Post's report that dozens of Iranians were involved.Defense Secretary Robert Gates scheduled a news conference at the Pentagon on Friday. In the meantime, an overriding question was whether the administration had indeed adopted a new, more aggressive approach toward Iranians operating in Iraq.

Bush bluntly warned Iran on Jan. 10 to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs, as his administration has long accused Tehran of doing. The next day, American troops backed by helicopters and armored vehicles raided an Iranian diplomatic office in Erbil, Iraq, in the middle of the night and detained a half- dozen Iranians working inside.The Iranian government said the raid violated international law. The American military said in a statement that documents and equipment removed from the office "will be examined to determine the extent of the alleged illegal or terrorist activity," and that "appropriate action" would be taken regarding the detainees.The Jan. 11 raid was one of a series of American operations against Iranians in Iraq, authorized under an order that Bush issued several months ago. "There has been a decision to go after these networks," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a Jan. 12 interview with The New York Times.Rice's willingness to discuss the Iranian issue seemed to reflect a new hostility toward Iran that was on display in Bush's Jan. 10 speech, in which he accused Tehran of providing material support for attacks on American troops and vowed to respond.The administration has long accused Iran of providing weapons and training to Shiite forces in Iraq with the aim of keeping the United States bogged down in the war and teaching Washington a bitter lesson about the perils of regime change and nation-building. In his 2002 State of the Union address, Bush described Iran as part of an "axis of evil," along with Iraq and North Korea.

Iran to act on uranium enrichment, UN asserts

DAVOS, Switzerland: The head of the UN nuclear inspection agency said Friday that Iranian officials had said they planned to begin installing equipment next month in an industrial-scale plant to enrich uranium, escalating the country's confrontation with the Security Council, which has demanded a full suspension of the production of nuclear material and authorized mild sanctions against the country.

The announcement by Mohamed ElBaradei, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, was coupled with a plea to both Tehran and Western nations for all sides to take a "timeout," a request that appeared to be an effort to head off a larger confrontation in coming months.

"Enough flexing muscles, enough calling names," the agency's director- general, said in an interview with reporters at the World Economic Forum's conference here. "It's time to engage."He proposed that the United Nations suspended its sanctions against Iran, while the Iranians would simultaneously suspend enrichment of uranium, a process that can produce the fuel for nuclear weapons, though the Iranians deny that is their goal.

Nuclear experts and American officials say that while the announcement was worrisome, it may be a bluff. Iran has run into significant difficulties in assembling the centrifuges that enrich uranium at a test facility.

A year ago, it promised to have 3,000 centrifuges running by around this time; instead, it is just beginning to install that equipment at an underground facility at Natanz. But clearly, ElBaradei is concerned that once that process begins, it will be difficult to halt — and that Iranian officials would be loathe to dismantle their facility once they began to construct it. He said that if it is constructed, a peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear standoff would be much harder to achieve.Similarly, he is concerned that the facility, once under construction, could become a military target for the United States or Israel.

Such a strike would be "absolutely bonkers," he said, noting that while it might destroy buildings, it would not deprive Iran of the technological expertise to pursue its nuclear ambitions. "It would only strengthen the hand of hard-liners," he said. "They would simply go underground."He said he worried that further sanctions against Iran, which the United Nations has threatened to impose next month if Tehran does not halt enrichment, "is only going to lead to an escalation." Given what inspectors know about Iran's current capabilities, ElBaradei said he believed the Iranians were three to eight years away from being able to manufacture a nuclear device.The United States said it would stick to its insistence that Iran stop enrichment as a pre-condition for negotiations.

The State Department spokesman, Sean McCormick, said the reports that Iran plans to install 3,000 centrifuges showed that it continues to defy international pressure."We'll see what Dr. ElBaradei has to say," McCormick said at a briefing in Washington. "More importantly, we'll see what the Iranians do; they continue in provocative behavior."He said the preliminary sanctions, which ban the import and export of material used in uranium enrichment, reprocessing and ballistic missiles, appear to be having some effect in Iran. While Tehran has maintained a defiant tone, there is evidence of an internal split over its posture.

Two hard-line newspapers that reflect the views of the country's supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, recently demanded that the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, stay away from nuclear issues because his comments were deepening Iran's isolation.

Iran's relations with the UN agency have deteriorated since the sanctions were approved last month. Tehran has demanded that the agency remove the official who oversees inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities, and it has barred inspectors from all countries that supported sanctions. It is not clear how much influence ElBaradei can exercise over this conflict, now that it has moved to the United Nations Security Council.But he appears to believe there is support for his proposal.

A diplomat at the agency, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said he had sounded out diplomats from Germany and France, and received encouraging responses.
The two, along with Britain, have led the talks with Iran over its nuclear program.

ElBaradei has also consulted with Russia, which favors a more conciliatory approach. But he did not discuss the idea with American officials before making it public here, the diplomat said. ElBaradei suggested the United States show more flexibility in another nuclear confrontation, with North Korea. The North Koreans have demanded that the United States drop financial sanctions against them as a condition for reviving talks over their nuclear program.
American and North Korean officials met earlier this month in Berlin, in a one-on-one meeting meant to lay the groundwork for a revival of multiparty talks in Beijing in the coming weeks.But there was no indication in Berlin that Washington plans to lift those measures, which it says stem from North Korea's counterfeiting of American dollars and laundering of proceeds from drug-running. "You cannot just stick to your guns," ElBaradei said of the American position. "A self-righteous approach gets you nowhere."Separately, Iran said Friday that it would bar all IAEA inspectors from countries that voted for the UN Security Council sanctions agreed to last month in response to the refusal by Tehran to heed a council deadline to suspend enrichment, The Associated Press reported.The announcement came after Iran said it had rejected 38 names from an IAEA list of inspectors, insisting that it had the right to approve individual members of the teams."Inspectors from countries behind the illogical resolution against peaceful nuclear activities of Iran will find no place in Iran if their countries do not go back to a wise and legal way," the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted an unidentified Iranian diplomat as saying, referring to the sanctions resolution.

SAUDI FM WARMS IRAN

Saudi FM Warns Iran

The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, warned against partitioning Iraq along sectarian lines and told Iran not to "meddle" in Arab affairs. "

For Saudi Arabia, a partition of Iraq is inconceivable. It is essential to avoid it," al-Faisal said in an interview published Wednesday in the French daily Le Figaro. "This breakup would first of all hurt Iraqis, who have suffered decades of conflict."

With sectarian violence raging in Iraq, many now talk openly of partition along sectarian lines, which would end US hopes of promoting a unified, democratic Iraq.

Despite mounting calls for a US troop withdrawal, US President George W. Bush has pushed ahead with his plan to increase forces in Iraq to stem the violence. "We are doing everything so that Iraqis - Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds - cooperate. From Iraq, al-Qaida threatens not only Saudi Arabia but also the entire region," the Saudi foreign minister was quoted as saying.

Saudi Arabia, a majority Sunni country, is wary of the rise of religious Shi'ite parties in Iraq's new government and the influence of neighboring Shi'ite Iran, which is believed to be providing military and financial support to Shi'ite militias.

In the Figaro interview, al-Faisal had harsh words for Iran, warning it against "meddling in Arab affairs." He also spoke out against French efforts to send an envoy to Iran to discuss the tensions in Lebanon and conflicts in the Middle East, saying doing so would "grant legitimacy to Iranian interference in the Arab world."

Saudia Arabia reportedly warned Washington late last year that it could provide financial aid to Iraqi Sunnis in any fighting against Shi'ites if the United States pulls its troops out of Iraq.

The White House and a Saudi official denied the report. But private citizens in Saudi Arabia have already been funneling money to Sunni insurgents in Iraq.

MASHAYEKHI TO COMPOSE RUMI SYMPHONY

Mashayekhi to compose Rumi Symphony

TEHRAN, Jan. 19 (MNA) -- Tehran Symphony Orchestra conductor Nader Mashayekhi has announced that he plans to compose a new work entitled the Rumi Symphony.

Commissioned by the Center for Music and Anthems of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the project is a response to the designation of the year 2007 as the “Year of Rumi” by UNESCO to mark the 800th birthday of the eminent philosopher.

The symphony will be composed in a Western classical/Iranian traditional fusion style, he said.

Mashayekhi maintains that all components should be employed equally in fusion music.

In recent years various commemorative symphonies have been composed by Iranian maestros, such as the Muhammad (S) Symphony composed by veteran Iranian musician Shahin Farhat.

The current Iranian calendar year was named “The Year of the Great Prophet Muhammad (S)” by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei during his New Year’s message on March 21, 2006.

Farhat also wrote the Persian Gulf Symphony, which was released on CD by the Sorush Institute last August.

A BAD PLAN FOR THE MIDDLE EAST

A bad plan for the Middle East

James Dobbins

WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush's most recent address to the American people on Iraq may be the scariest presidential message since Ronald Reagan announced that he had launched a nuclear strike against the Soviet Union. Reagan was just kidding. Bush is not.Immediate reaction to the president's speech has focused on the intended increase in the U.S. troop commitment to Baghdad. However, the greatest danger posed by the Bush plan is not that of horizontal escalation in Iraq, but of vertical escalation throughout the surrounding region.Given the level of violence in Iraq, the addition of another 20,000 U.S. troops is not likely to make much difference one way or another. Casualities — American and perhaps Iraqi — may go up as a result, but only marginally.

The far graver risk inherent in the president's plan is that the war in Iraq may spread to neighboring countries.In December, the Iraq Study Group, chaired by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Congressman Lee Hamilton, recommended that Bush engage Iran and Syria. He is doing so — by sending an additional aircraft carrier to the Gulf and Patriot missiles to adjoining countries. This is exactly the opposite course advocated by the Iraq Study Group, which urged serious diplomatic talks rather than, or at least in addition to, military saber rattling.The bipartisan panel also recommended that the Bush administration renew efforts to broker an Arab-Israeli peace agreement.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is visiting the Middle East in what was originally billed as an effort to promote progress in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. But in the aftermath of the president's Jan. 10 address, administration officials are now suggesting that the main purpose of the trip is to forge an anti-Iranian coalition among the conservative governments of the region.Perhaps most ominous are news reports that White House officials have been encouraging the Saudi government to fund anti-Hezbollah and anti- Hamas militias in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.Given the exceptionally tough tone of the president's latest remarks regarding Iran and Syria, the military moves he has just directed at them, the administration's intensified efforts to build and arm an anti-Iranian regional coalition, and the president's often repeated determination to deny Iran a nuclear capability, there is a growing danger that the current U.S.-Iranian confrontation could escalate in the coming months from harsh rhetoric and economic sanctions to military action.The U.S. military raid upon an Iranian consulate in northern Iraq, and its detention of half a dozen Iranian officials only hours after the president's speech, only highlights the danger of such an escalation.When one adds to these risk factors reports that the administration has begun promoting surrogate funding for "contra" militias to challenge Hezbollah and Hamas for control of the streets of Beirut, Ramallah and Gaza City, one is faced with a nightmare scenario: the prospect of an unbroken string of civil wars and failing states stretching from the Hindu Kush to the Mediterranean.It has never been likely that the United States could stabilize Iraq and destabilize Iran and Syria at the same time. Those states, by reason of their proximity, cultural affinity and blood ties have more access to and influence within Iraqi society than Americans can ever hope to achieve. As long as the United States operates in Iraq at cross purposes with nearly all its neighbors, and particularly the most influential, American efforts to promote peace and reconciliation are unlikely to prosper.In 1995 it would have been impossible for the United States and its allies to bring peace to Bosnia without engaging Serbia and Croatia, the two states responsible for that civil war. So it will prove impossible to stabilize Iraq without the cooperation of its neighbors, and particularly those with the greatest influence.Of course, Serbia and Croatia did not participate willingly in the Bosnian peace process. It took concerted political pressure and economic sanctions to bring them to the table. It also took continuous engagement. In refusing to combine coercion with communication in its dealings (or non-dealings) with Iraq's neighbors, the Bush administration is making peace in Iraq less likely, and increasing the chances for war throughout the surrounding region.

James Dobbins is the director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation and a former U.S. assistant secretary of state.

IRANIAN BLOGGERS ON WEB RESTRICTIONS

Iranian bloggers on web restrictions

Iranian bloggers have reacted with anger and scorn to a new law requiring them to register their
websites and blogsites with the authorities.
It is being seen as the latest attempt by the Iranian government to control the media.
BBC Persian.com asked six Iranian bloggers - inside and outside Iran - if they thought the law could be enforced and what effect it would have.
CONTINUE..............

IRAN ACHIEVED MOST OF ITS GOALS IN NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY, A NUCLEAR OFFICIAL SAYS

Iran Achieved Most of its Goals in Nuclear Technology, a Nuclear Official Says

BAZTAB, Iran Achieved Most of its Goals in Nuclear Technology,

a Nuclear Official SaysDespite multi-lateral sanctions, Iran has been able to achieve most of its four-folded objectives in acquiring nuclear technology, an Iranian official said Wednesday Jan. 17.

"We have to master in nuclear technology, biotechnology and nanotechnology," the IAEO official said. "Our country was resolved to reach to nuclear knowledge and it did," deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization for international affairs, Mohammad Saidi, said in a speech in Tehran.

"Our path is defined and we do not falter in treading it. We continue to tread it in future on the basis of international laws and regulations. We have no other option but to produce domestic (nuclear) fuel," he said.

Access to nuclear fuel technology, production of nuclear fuel, heavy water technology and capability to build heavy water reactors are the four objectives that Iran is trying to achieve in nuclear technology, Saidi said.

Acquiring to know-how in nuclear fuel technology as the first goal was made possible in Iran in March 2006, the Iranian official added.

The second goal for Iran was to master in nuclear fuel production know-how, Saidi said adding that "its achievement was a complicated process due to the difficulties, sanctions and international sensitivity that the country was faced with during the past three decades."

He termed access to knowledge of producing heavy water and subsequently the construction of heavy water reactors as the third goal of the Islamic Republic.

There are two paths of fuel production and construction of intricate heavy water installations in nuclear technology. All the world countries, except the US and Russia, follow one of the two paths, he explained. "Iran, however, had no clear picture of the future," the Iranian official said adding that "we had to tread both paths and we were successful in both areas."

"Mastering in the know-how of light water reactors and their construction in the country is the fourth goal. All the Iranian nuclear objectives have been either achieved or are expected to be materialized in near future," Saidi said.

China was expected to launch the UCF project in Isfahan in 1993 to be completed by 2004. However, China cancelled its agreement with Iran in 1996. Iranian experts resumed work in Isfahan in 2000 and completed the project in 2003. In 2004, it reached to its production stage, Saidi explained.

"The UN Security Council sanctions against Iran cannot stop the Iranian nation from achieving their goals," the Iranian nuclear official reiterated."

The US is exerting pressure on Iran despite the fact that it supports certain countries that produce nuclear weapons while they refrain from membership in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," he reiterated.

IRAN: AHMADINEJAD'S GOVERNMENT PRESSURING ACTIVIST STUDENTS, UNIVERSITIES

Iran: Ahmadinejad's Government Pressuring Activist Students, Universities

By Vahid Sepehri

January 16, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Recent reports indicate that the Iranian government is intensifying restrictions on activist students and universities, although Iran's education minister has dismissed reports of such pressure and said the authorities have so far been "lenient" on universities and students

A recent students rally in Tehran

The pressure applied by the state on universities has taken various forms: students have been summoned to university disciplinary boards for alleged misconduct, suspended from classes for various periods of time, student newspapers have been shut down, and university directors and professors have been dismissed, and students have been denied entry to graduate schools due to their political activism.

"Radicalism in the student movement is caused by the ninth government's treatment of student activists and legal formations at universities."

Star Students
These are the so-called "starred" students -- named because stars or asterisks have been placed next to their names on official lists.
In the past several weeks, the Iranian media have documented several instances of restrictive or punitive measures against students.
In one case, the editor of the student review "Farhang-i Mubarez" at Shahrud University, east of Tehran, was summoned to the disciplinary board there following complaints by city officials that items in the review had insulted local officials, ISNA reported on January 2.
The same day, ILNA reported the closure of the student union at Bu Ali Sina University in Hamedan, western Iran.In another instance, an official of the Jandishapur Medical University in Ahwaz, southwestern Iran, spoke to ISNA on January 3 about a number of students facing unspecified punishments after someone allegedly complained about their "disrespect for student norms."
ISNA reported the same day that 11 medical students from Shahr-i Kurd in western Iran had been summoned to the disciplinary board of the Shahr-i Kurd Medical Science University to answer questions over reported rowdiness in dormitories, though student Aref Fadai told ISNA he thought this was an "excuse.

CONTINUE........................

TORTURE OF PRISONERS IN IRAN

For your information and action:

Torture of prisoners in Iran

Kheirollah(Saeed) Derakhshandi arrested at the end of August 2006

University student and activist Saeed Derakhshandi remains under duress months after his arrest. Information obtained by Derakhshandi father implies that the young student is under colossal pressure as a result of the incessant physical and psychological anguish that he is being subjected to in Evin prison

(advar news, 13/01/2007)

U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY FAULTS IRAN’S ‘NEGATIVE’ ACTIONS IN MIDEAST

U.S. Defense SECRETARY FAULTS IRAN’S ‘NEGATIVE’ ACTIONS IN MIDEAST

KABUL: Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday that Iran was "acting in a very negative way" in the Middle East and that the United States was building up its forces to demonstrate its resolve to remain in the Gulf."The Iranians clearly believe that we are tied down in Iraq, that they have the initiative, that they're in a position to press us in many ways," Gates said, speaking to reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels before flying here. "We are simply trying to communicate to the region that we are going to be there for a long time."Delivering that message to Iran — and to allies in the region worried that Washington is consumed with stabilizing Iraq — is one of Gates's priorities on a trip to the region this week that will take him later to the Gulf.

Senior defense officials said they also planned to stress to the largely Sunni Arab governments worried about Iran that must also assist the United States in Iraq with reconstruction aid and with putting pressure on fellow Sunnis to reach political reconciliation.President George W. Bush announced last week, in his speech laying out his new Iraq strategy, that he was also sending a second aircraft carrier and several Patriot anti-missile batteries to the Gulf."The United States has had a strong presence in the Gulf for a long time," Gates said. "We are simply reaffirming that" with the buildup."In Afghanistan, he is expected to meet with President Hamid Karzai and with American and NATO commanders. There are about 23,000 America troops in Afghanistan, 11,000 of whom are under NATO command. Other NATO countries are supplying 20,000 soldiers.In a stop at NATO headquarters in Brussels before flying to Kabul, Gates said he had discussed the surge in Taliban attacks over the past year, especially in the south, with NATO's secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Gates said there were "indications that the Taliban were planning a large spring offensive.

Though Gates's trip this week to Europe and the Middle East is largely intended to explain the new White House plan to stabilize Iraq, he is also dealing with Iran.As part of its review of Iraq strategy announced last week, the Bush administration rejected a proposal by the Iraq Study Group to resume diplomatic contacts with Iran. Gates, who endorsed resuming diplomatic contacts with Iran in 2004, two years before he joined the Bush administration, said that Iran's behavior had worsened since then and that diplomatic discussions would be possible only when Iran was "prepared to play a constructive role in dealing with some of these problems."Gates said that Iran "was doing nothing to be helpful" in Iraq, where the American military has conducted two operations that resulted in the arrest of Iranians who the United States said were suspected of involvement in providing bomb-making materials.He also criticized Iran for aiding Hezbollah in Lebanon.Bush administration officials have also sought to rally international pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear program, which the White House has said it aimed at producing nuclear weapons.

FRENCH VISIT TO TEHRAN, SEEN AS DIPLOMATIC FAUX PAS, IS ABORTED

French visit to Tehran, seen as diplomatic faux pas, is aborted

PARIS: At a time when most world powers have forged a united front against Iran because of its nuclear program, President Jacques Chirac arranged to send his foreign minister to Tehran to talk about a side issue, then abruptly canceled the visit earlier this month in embarrassing failure.Mr. Chirac's troubles stemmed from his deep desire to help resolve the crisis in Lebanon before his term runs out in May. To that end, he decided to seek the support of Iran, which, along with Syria, backs the radical Shiite organization Hezbollah, three senior French officials said in describing the effort.So he planned to send Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy to Tehran, only to call off the trip two days before it was to have taken place, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly on diplomatic issues.Both Mr. Douste-Blazy and senior Foreign Ministry officials concluded that such a trip was doomed to fail and that it would send the wrong signal just weeks after the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved sanctions intended to curb Iran's nuclear program, they added.

That put Mr. Douste-Blazy in the uncomfortable position of having to tell Mr. Chirac that he did not want to go, one senior official said."This is not French diplomacy at its best," the official said of the initiative, which was disclosed in the newspaper Le Monde on Tuesday afternoon.When Mr. Douste-Blazy visited Saudi Arabia and Egypt this month, the foreign ministers of both countries also informed him that they strongly opposed any such initiative.Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, was so determined to stop the visit that he spoke to Mr. Douste-Blazy in uncharacteristically blunt terms — "I am going to tell you, do not go" — according to a senior official familiar with the conversation.The French plan contradicted the Bush administration strategy of trying to isolate and punish Iran. Rather than negotiating with Tehran, the United States is building up American forces in the Persian Gulf, persuading many international businesses to cut off dealings with Iran and trying to curtail Iranian operations in Iraq.The Bush administration apparently was not consulted in advance about the plan, and Stephen J. Hadley, the Bush administration's national security adviser, protested to Jean-David Levitte, France's ambassador in Washington.In subsequent communications with R. Nicholas Burns, the under secretary of state for political affairs, and Craig R. Stapleton, the American ambassador to France, the Foreign Ministry gave assurances that it was trying hard to ensure that Mr. Douste-Blazy did not travel to Iran.Iran, meanwhile, has officially expressed its displeasure that the trip was canceled.For the moment, Jean-Claude Cousseran, a former head of France's foreign intelligence service and former ambassador to Egypt, is planning to make the trip to Tehran, leaving open the face-saving possibility that the foreign minister could follow at a later, unspecified, date, a senior French official said.

But the initiative is so ad hoc and divisive that one senior official said that even Mr. Cousseran's trip might not take place.Mr. Chirac's initiative is surprising because he has consistently taken a hard line against Iran and its nuclear program, privately expressing the view that the Islamic republic cannot be trusted. While other global players, including Russia and China, regularly send senior officials to Tehran, France had joined with Britain, Germany and the United States in pressuring Iran to suspend its uranium-enrichment activities or face sanctions in the Security Council. In fact, France largely drafted the initial resolution in tough language that was watered down in the end.French officials stressed that discussion of Iran's nuclear program was not part of the new initiative, and that Mr. Chirac was simply trying anything he could think of to help Lebanon, where about 1,700 French troops are stationed as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force.Mr. Chirac's interest in Lebanon is described by some of his close aides as an "obsession," and he seems driven to help bolster its weak government before his presidential mandate ends, even if it means courting Tehran.

Specifically, Mr. Chirac would like Iran's help to curb the activities of Hezbollah. He also wants to win Iran's support for an international tribunal to try the killers of Lebanon's former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, who was a close friend.Mr. Chirac has repeatedly ruled out any dialogue with Syria, which he blames for Mr. Hariri's assassination.On January 25, Mr. Chirac is playing host to an international donors' conference for the reconstruction of Lebanon, and he is determined that it be a success. Neither Iran nor Hezbollah, which is part of the Lebanese government, have been invited.But Hezbollah and its backers in Lebanon have relentlessly criticized the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, saying it has lost its legitimacy and calling on it to resign.Mr. Douste-Blazy's visit would have been a diplomatic coup for Iran. The last time France sent a senior delegation to Tehran was in October 2003, when Dominique de Villepin, who was then foreign minister, spent less than a day there along with his British and German counterparts.

The trio announced an ambitious nuclear plan aimed at rewarding Iran with political, economic and security incentives in return for the suspension of its uranium enrichment activities. The plan foundered after Iran rejected international demands to stop making enriched uranium, which can be used to make energy or for nuclear weapons.The French initiative on Iran underscores the disarray of French foreign policy as Mr. Chirac nears the end of his second term as president.It had been developed inside the Elysée Palace by Maurice Gourdault-Montagne, Mr. Chirac's national security adviser. When Mr. Gourdault-Montagne met with Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, on the fringes of a security conference in Bahrain last month, Mr. Mottaki suggested that Mr. Douste-Blazy visit Tehran. Mr. Douste-Blazy met with Mr. Mottaki twice last year, in Lebanon and at the United Nations. But Mr. Douste-Blazy concluded that it would be impossible to meet with him in Iran, particularly after he was told that Mr. Mottaki was the Iranian official who opened a conference on Holocaust-denial in Tehran that was condemned around the world.

MID-EAST AWAITS ANSWER FROM RICE

Mid-East awaits answers from Rice

Condoleezza Rice will have no easy moments during her week on the road. The Middle East is in a profound and long-term crisis, and the United States is intimately involved.Shia faithful at the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf, Iraq, this month

Iranian challenge

When she visits Israel, Condoleezza Rice will certainly talk about how to reduce tensions in the occupied territories. But she will also be discussing Iran, and its nuclear plans.The United States and Israel are at the forefront of the campaign to stop what they believe is Iran's plan to acquire nuclear weapons.In Israel there is plenty of talk about the need to take military action against Iran at some point in the future, especially if the US will not.Israel will also be reassured by the recent news that the CIA is going to start making moves in Lebanon against Hezbollah. The United States was disappointed that Israel was not able to deliver its stated objective in the war last summer of eliminating Hezbollah as a military force in Lebanon. It saw Israel's fight as its fight, a battle in the War on Terror, its proxy against Iran's.Is Condoleezza Rice moving through a region where divisions are hardening into the shape of what might become the next war? In Iraq, there could be an axis between the US and Saudi Arabia, which seems to be indicating that it is prepared to intervene to help its Sunni brothers; against them would stand Iran and its Shia allies. A war like that would start renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah which would most likely pull in Syria.That nightmare need not come to pass, Ms Rice might suggest, if the militant Palestinian factions listen to reason and the new US plan for Iraq works, if Iran does as it is told and stops meddling in Iraq and as long as Tehran responds to diplomatic pressure to end its nuclear programme.Those are three big "ifs", in a world of danger.

The rise of Iraq's Shia Muslims alarms many Sunni Arab statesShe will want to sell the new American plan to send more troops to Iraq to US allies in the Gulf. In Washington it has been condemned by Democrats and dissident Republicans as a dangerous escalation of the war.Ms Rice might be hoping for a more receptive audience in the Gulf. After all, the region's Sunni Muslim ruling families want to keep their strongest ally engaged in their part of the world.But they might also want to ask Ms Rice whether the plan to send 20,000 more American troops to Iraq will make their problems worse, not better. After all, the most serious challenges they face were, to a large degree, made in America during the period in 2002 and 2003 when the White House and the Pentagon were planning for war in Iraq, but not thinking too hard about what would happen after they reached Baghdad.Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states have bloodshed on their doorsteps, and that is not comfortable. Iraq has become a base for Sunni extremists who despise the Gulf rulers who are in the American camp.

The Shia factor

But even more serious for the Gulf's ruling families - and less directly the authoritarian Sunni regimes in Jordan and Egypt - is the growing empowerment of Shia Muslims. It is perhaps the single biggest unintentional consequence of George Bush's decision to invade Iraq and it will be making Sunnis nervous for at least a generation.[President Bush] might even find more support for his approach to international relations in the Knesset in Jerusalem than in the Congress in Washington DCThe era of Sunni dominance is ending. Shias have been dominant in the Iraqi government ever since it was re-established by the Americans. By removing Saddam Hussein, the Sunni strongman, the Americans also obligingly removed Shia Iran's biggest local enemy.The Shia minorities in Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain all watched it happen with great interest. So did Shia Muslim Hezbollah in Lebanon, whose fighters gave Israel a bloody nose and a long-running political and strategic headache after last summer's war.The indications are that the Americans are preparing themselves - and their allies - for a moment when they go after Iraq's strongest Shia militia, the Mehdi Army, which is led by the cleric Moqtada Sadr. That could ignite a wider Shia uprising in Iraq, and increase the restiveness among Shia minorities in the Gulf States. President Bush has also threatened to use his troops against what the US believes are infiltration routes into Iraq from Syria and Iran.Condoleezza Rice denies that taking the war to Syria and Iran would be an escalation, which is how it will be seen by many critics of US policy. In an interview with the BBC, she said it was simply "good policy", a reaction to unacceptable and lethal Iranian activities against US forces. The US put a warning shot across Iran's bows a few days ago when its soldiers raided Iranian offices in the Kurdish town of Irbil in Northern Iraq.During her visit, Secretary of State Rice will try to explain to Gulf rulers why she believes the rewards beat the risks. She told senators in Washington that the consequences of an American failure in Iraq were enormous, not just for the US and for Iraq, but also for the whole Middle East and the wider world.That is one thing that people on all sides of the argument can probably agree on. Where they differ is on whether or not the failure is already happening. Condoleezza Rice has to persuade her hosts that it is not yet unavoidable

Friends and foes

The other big part of the trip will be her latest visit to Israel and the Palestinians. The Americans do not pretend to have new ideas to bring the Israelis and the Palestinians closer together.Israeli fighter pilot with his F-16C Falcon jet fighterIn Israel there is plenty of talk about the need to take military action against Iran at some point in the future, especially if the US will not.In her BBC interview, the secretary of state said she hoped to "move forward, perhaps even accelerate" the road map. That is the US-backed peace plan that was supposed to lead to the creation of a Palestinian state.It has been moribund almost since it was tabled in 2003, partly because the Bush administration and Israel were lukewarm about it, and partly because neither Israel nor the Palestinians have fulfilled the obligations they have in it.When President Bush came to power, the Americans were the only power with the clout to influence both sides. He chose not to use it.He has been criticised for not putting America's weight behind a diplomatic offensive that would force the two sides to fix a price for peace. But since 9/11 President Bush has viewed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, just like the rest of US foreign policy, through the prism of the war on terror.That is not going to change. In his last two years in office, Iraq will take most of his administration's energies, and President Bush anyway appears to be happy with the American approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.His world is divided up into friends and enemies. He has rejected the advice of the Baker-Hamilton report on Iraq to start a diplomatic initiative to include Syria, Iran and to push towards ending the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.No Palestinian leader can unite the divided factions in a brutalised society that is crumbling under the weight of occupation and financial sanctions. For the president, Israel is America's friend, closer than any other and more deserving of support. It is not conceivable that George Bush would ever consider putting the sort of pressure on Israel that would produce the kind of concessions that the Palestinians want even as the bare minimum for a deal - even if he could get the idea past his electorate.Anyway, after the thumping President Bush's Republicans took at the mid-term elections late last year because of the Iraq war, he might even find more support for his approach to international relations in the Knesset in Jerusalem than in the Congress in Washington DC. It is also inconceivable that the Palestinians will satisfy Israel's security needs. No Palestinian leader can unite the divided factions in a brutalised society that is crumbling under the weight of occupation and international financial sanctions.The most significant American intervention there in the last few months has been the decision to permit the transfer of weapons to forces loyal to the generally conciliatory Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, to bolster them against their Islamist rivals, Hamas.

A LETTER FROM THE AMIR KABIR UNIVERSITY STUDENT PROTESTORS TO THE PEOPLE OF IRAN

A letter from the Amir Kabir University student protestors to the people of Iran

Enlightened People of Iran,
The cries that you heard several weeks ago from the Amir Kabir Polytechnic university was neither the voice of the members of various political parties, nor the voices of those who would have supposedly been deceived by the United States of America and Zionists. They were the cries of your children; students seeking freedom and equality at the Polytechnic; raised-up cries for many years of tolerating oppression, cruelty, horror and suffocation at the hands of those autocrats ruling over this land.
Our cries are the echoes of poverty, corruption and discrimination which has run deep roots in our society and has driven the most pure individuals of our land to prostitution, leaving no other choice for the most responsible ones other than to flee the country all together.
Poverty, corruption and discrimination which has been forced upon the honest workers, employees, teachers, women and men of the land has become the basis of all enmity and unrest in our daily lives. How is it possible that in a country where the pages of newspapers that daily become darker and darker with despair, suicide and drug addiction, one can live a calm and uncomplicated life?
Our cries are not the voices of justice-seekers and hate mongering students…students who these days are even deprived of the right to an education. They are sent to prison and die as a result of hunger strike in prison and are shamelessly attacked, ridiculed and insulted by Ahmadinejad and his supporters.
We protest the suppression of the wokers’ protests; workers who have not received their wages for months on end and due to unjust policies of the totalitarian rule, they are fired from their jobs.
We protest the discriminatory laws against women and brutal suppression of peaceful protests for them to obtain the minimum human rights. We stand against the captivity of the critics [of the regime], political protesters and the banning of publications in our country.
Political suppression which in the absence of opposition, facilitates the autocrats - who absolutely distort and obfuscate – dare to pass off their vainglory under the guise of the absolute rights of the Iranian people.
At Amir Kabir University Ahmadinejad speaks of an increase of non-oil exports. Our question is how does one justify an increase in non-oil exports when Iran’s economy is 70% dependent on Iran’s oil?
Mr. Ahmadinejad speaks of the decrease in imports; can one call the growth index of $40 billion a reduction in imports?
We have the right to ask the president and even holler at him to explain what exactly happened to all those promises and slogans? Where is that oil money that was promised to the citizens? Who are those who make up the power and wealth mafia? Will they ever be actually identified? Why is it that the news of all the trips Ahmadinejad takes to various provinces get wide coverage by Islamic regime’s radio and television but the closure of factories and fired workers, teachers and intellectuals who have the responsibility of educating the future generations completely blocked out. Is this not demagoguery?
We have the right to holler at Ahmadinejad to answer why the ministry of science is granted the right to assign stars to students*, prohibiting them from entering onto university campuses. Do the heavy verdicts imposed by the disciplinary committees on the student activists, not mean enmity and hatred? How can university officials and authorities of the ministry of science allow university students such as Ali Azizi, Abbass Hakimzadeh and Majid Tavakoli be prohibited from entering into the university?
They have left no psychological tranquility for the students. In a totally illegal move, the scholastic file of students is closed. They send threat messages to our families. In a totally vicious move they destroy the student assembly building, the members’ property and personal information is confiscated. They turn the university into a war zone and put students under constant intelligence/military surveillance. Are we then the ones who cause tension in the university environment?
They even fear the enclosed university environment where information flows freely. With all the arrest and restrictions on publishing students’ periodicals, how can Ahmadinejad claim that he accepts the voice of opposition?
How did Ahmadinejad dare to accuse university students of being lackeys of the U.S. or Zionists? What documentation can he produce as a proof of such an accusation?
We students will not tolerate such talk; for this reason we demand the full and uncensored broadcast of the film footage of Ahmadinejad’s speech at our university via the so-called national media so that the world can judge for itself who the real enemies of the people are and who the foreign agents are.
Indeed, we have decided to take our futures into our own hands.
* Stars are being given to students for punishment. "Students with stars" describes students who have been expelled or suspended from a university. The term became prevalent after several students said university officials had refused to register them for the new academic year, telling them that they have two or three stars. Student protestors and activists say more than 250 students have been affected thus far. The “admission committee” in charge of picking out the students who get the stars is made up agents of the ministry of intelligence and security of the Islamic regime

For information and action:
A prisoner’s Father: I Am Losing My Son. Can You Do Something?

Ahmad Batebi was arrested during the student uprisings at Tehran University in the summer of 1999 and subsequently sentenced to death. During former president Khatami, Batebi was given prison leave to go home for short periods, since president Ahmadinejad he has not been allowed to go on home leave.










On Saturday, January 6th Dr. Hessam Firoozi, Ahmad Batebi’s doctor was summoned to court where he was charged and arrested.

-Mr Batebi please tell us about your last meeting with Ahmad.

Mohammad Baqer Batebi (MB): I saw Ahmad on Monday. I have to say he was not in very good physical health. We are worried about him because he is being kept in ward 209 under very harsh conditions, unfortunately he is even deprived of sunlight, and we do not know about his food or nutritional conditions, Prison officials refused to even accept the things that I had taken for him.

-What was the reason behind Ahmad’s re-arrest? The judiciary’s spokesperson has said earlier that Ahmad has been sentenced to prison time and thus needs to return by law.

MB: the only thing that is not being observed here is the law. I don’t know why they are keeping Ahmad in high-security section of the prison. If, as the judiciary’s spokesperson says, Ahmad has been sentenced to prison time, then why is he being kept at the interrogation ward 209 and not a regular ward? Ahmad was re-arrested 5 months ago. He spent 3 of those 5 months in solitary confinement and now he is being kept in Ward 209 under semi-solitary conditions. On the other hand, some are constantly attacking Ahmad outside of prison. These actions show that they want to get rod of .I am really worried. What has he done?

-Have your efforts gotten you anywhere?

MB: we went to the revolutionary court and they said Ahmad is a prisoner and he should serve his full prison time. But we don’t understand why he is in the custody of the Ministry of Intelligence?
People at the ministry ask us not to d anything, they say let us do our job and that they don’t mean harm. But if they don’t mean harm why is Ahmad in ward 209? They are playing with our emotions. Our son is slowly losing his life and no one takes responsibility for this. I really feel that they might do something to him this time. I can see in his eyes that he is asking for help but what can I do?

(Interviewer: Hassan Zarezadeh Ardeshir-ROOZ-2006.12.12)
from: Iranian Human Rights Activitist in EU and North America (IHRAG)

CHINA 'REASSURES' OLMERT ON IRAN

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert has said he has received candid reassurance from China that the country opposes any plans by Iran to develop nuclear weapons.Mr Olmert, in China as part of a three-day visit, met his Chinese counterpart Wen Jibao.Speaking after the discussions, Mr Olmert said he was "positively surprised" by what he had heard.The US and EU claim Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, but Iran says its programme is entirely peaceful."China made it absolutely clear that it opposes an Iran with a nuclear bomb," Mr Olmert told reporters after the 90-minute meeting with the Chinese premier.He said that he believed Iran had the nuclear knowledge to reach the "threshold" where it could begin to build nuclear bombs.International pressure"I believe Iran will try and reach it and I believe international pressure will prevent it," he said.Israel is pushing for tougher measures against Iran if it continues to ignore a UN resolution calling on it to halt work on its nuclear programme.China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has so far indicated it would prefer to continue talks with Tehran.China's official news agency, Xinhua, quoted Mr Wen as telling Mr Olmert that the country, "will continue to play a constructive role in promoting the settlement of the [Iran] issue."Analysts say that China's hunger for Iranian gas and oil to fuel its economy might soften its stance towards the country.Mr Olmert's trip to China comes just days after a visit by Iran's nuclear negotiator, who was in Beijing last week.Personal resonanceTrade relations were also high on the agenda.Business between China and Israel is booming - last year it was worth more than $700m, up by a third on the previous 12 months.The two leaders signed agreements on importing Israeli citrus fruit and water purification technology, as well as improving cultural ties between the countries.China also has a special personal significance for Mr Olmert. His parents took refuge in the country in the early 1900s, after fleeing persecution in Russia.In the past Mr Olmert has talked of having a spiritual tie with China.

Lt-Gen Petraeus: Bush's 'last hope' for Iraq

Lt-Gen David Petraeus, who is to take over as the top US military commander, is being seen by many as the best, perhaps the last hope, of President Bush's Iraq policy.He comes into the job just as Mr Bush announces his new strategy for the future of US involvement in Iraq, to include the sending of an extra 21,500 troops to the worst trouble spots.Lt-Gen Petraeus, who has spent two of the last four years in Iraq, has a reputation as one of the smartest generals in the US Army and has just helped to rewrite its counter-insurgency doctrine.He is credited with subduing northern Iraq following the 2003 invasion, but his subsequent role - as head of a programme to train the new Iraqi security forces - has led to greater criticism.BBC world affairs correspondent Nick Childs says he has his detractors, even within the military.He is intense, ambitious and hugely competitive, our correspondent says. But some resent his high profile, and complain he is a self-promoter.Cheating deathBorn in 1952, David Petraeus graduated from the West Point military academy in 1974 and was commissioned in the infantry. He also has a PhD in international relations from Princeton University.He served as an officer in airborne, mechanised, and air assault infantry units in the US, Europe and the Middle East, before the invasion.But he was lucky to ever reach Iraq, having twice suffered life-threatening injuries.In a training exercise in 1991, an infantryman tripped and accidentally shot him in the chest with his rifle. He was five hours in surgery, operated on by Bill Frist, who later became majority leader in the last Republican-controlled Senate.And during a parachute jump nine years later, his parachute collapsed 60 ft from the ground and he broke his pelvis.'Hearts and minds'He was commander of the 101st Airborne Division during the invasion of Iraq and its subsequent occupation of Mosul.The division was charged with restarting the economy, building security forces and establishing democratic institutions in the city.His success appears to have been down to a combination of less aggressive military tactics than others employed and a very aggressive effort to win over the locals.If the rest of the US military had adopted this "hearts and minds" approach, his supporters say, Iraq would not be in the mess it is today.In June 2004 he became head of the Multi-National Security Transition Command, where he was tasked with building a new Iraqi army and police force virtually from scratch.He appears to have had some success in this - Iraq now has nearly 190,000 trained local and national police and 130,000 troops.But so far only three divisions are under full Iraqi government control, and our correspondent says the failure of the programme to produce the required results is partly why Mr Bush is in his current predicament.

US forces storm Iranian consulate

US forces have stormed an Iranian consulate in the northern Iraqi town of Irbil and seized six members of staff.The troops raided the building at about 0300 (0001GMT), taking away computers and papers, according to Kurdish media and senior local officials.The US military would only confirm the detention of six people around Irbil.The raid comes amid high Iran-US tension. The US accuses Iran of helping to fuel violence in Iraq and seeking nuclear arms. Iran denies both charges.Tehran counters that US military involvement in the Middle East endangers the whole region.A local TV station said Kurdish security forces had taken over the building after the Americans had left.Irbil lies in Iraq's Kurdish-controlled north, about 350km (220 miles) from the capital Baghdad.Reports say the Iranian consulate there was set up last year under an agreement with the Kurdish regional government to facilitate cross-border visits.PressureIranian media said the country's embassy in Baghdad had sent a letter of protest about the raid to the Iraqi foreign ministry.One Iranian news agency with a correspondent in Irbil says five US helicopters were used to land troops on the roof of the Iranian consulate.It reports that a number of vehicles cordoned off the streets around the building, while US soldiers warned the occupants in three different languages that they should surrender or be killed.In December, US troops detained a number of Iranians in Iraq, including two with diplomatic immunity who were later released.Thursday's raid came as US President George W Bush unveiled his new strategy in Iraq, which included increasing troop numbers and a commitment to stop Iranian support for "our enemies in Iraq".BBC Diplomatic Correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the raid could signal a ratcheting-up of pressure on the Iranians, in line with the rhetorical thrust of his speech.Meanwhile in the Iraqi capital, the five off-duty policemen were killed in an ambush in the western al-Khadra neighbourhood, hospital officials saidSecurity sources said another man was killed wounded in an attack on a money changer in downtown Baghdad.In the restive Anbar province, the US military said that one of its troops was killed on Tuesday by a roadside bombing.

ENEMIES SOWING DISCORD TO WEAKEN UNITY OF MUSLIMS: MP .htm

ENEMIES SOWING DISCORD TO WEAKEN UNITY OF MUSLIMS: MP

Tehran, Jan 11, IRNA
Iran-Majlis-MP A member of Majlis (Parliament) here Thursday said that the enemies of Islam fear the unity and solidarity of the world's Muslims and are therefore trying to create discord among the various Islamic sects.
Talking to IRNA, MP Abdolreza Torabi, from Garmsar in central Iran, said that the tactic is now new and have been used by the enemies to weaken Muslims and make them vulnerable to attacks and conspiracies.
Underscoring the importance of unity, he called on Muslims worldwide to reinforce their unity and solidarity in light of the increasing challenges to their faith.
Over 80 percent of the world's oil resources are in the hands of Muslims, he noted, and added that Muslim states should be fully capable of resisting plots and conspiracies of global arrogance.
Referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei's exhortation to Muslims to strengthen their unity, he said that the ayatollah had rightly warned Islamic states to beware of the conspiracies of enemies to create discord and divisions among Muslims.

FEMALE TEHRAN UNIVERSITY STUDENT ARRESTED AND INTERROGATED

FEMALE TEHRAN UNIVERSITY STUDENT ARRESTED AND INTERROGATED

2007 Monday 08 January
Advaar News the news source from the office of Fostering Unity (Tahkim Vahdat)* reported: Zeynab Payghambarzadeh, female Tehran university student was arrested in the Tehran-Karadj metro line during her campaign to collect one million signatures to change women’s laws; she was kept in detention by agents of the ministry of intelligence and security (MOIS) for 4 days and charged with “taking action against national security”.
The university disciplinary commission suspended Payghambarzadeh from 2 academic terms as a penalty for her involvement in the June 2006 Tehran university protests.
CONTINUE.........

IN SAUDI ARABIA, A RESURGENCE OF SUFISM

IN SAUDI ARABIA, A RESURGENCE OF SUFISM
Mystical Sect of Islam Finds Its Voice in More Tolerant Post-9/11 Era
By Faiza Saleh AmbahSpecial to The Washington Post

Tuesday, May 2, 2006; Page A13
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia -- A hush came over the crowd as the young man sitting cross-legged on the floor picked up the microphone and sang, a cappella, a poem about Islam's prophet Muhammad. His eyes shut tight, his head covered by an orange-and-white turban, he crooned with barely contained ardor of how the world rejoiced and lights filled the skies the day the prophet was born.
The men attending the mawlid -- a celebration of the birth and life of Muhammad -- sat on colorful rugs, rocking gently back and forth, while the women, on the upper floor watching via a large projection screen, passed around boxes of tissues and wiped tears from their eyes.

The centuries-old mawlid, a mainstay of the more spiritual and often mystic Sufi Islam, was until recently viewed as heretical and banned by Saudi Arabia's official religious establishment, the ultraconservative Wahhabis. But a new atmosphere of increased religious tolerance has spurred a resurgence of Sufism and brought the once-underground Sufis and their rituals out in the open. ...
CONTINUE.....

IRAN: POPULAR MUSICIAN SENTENCED TO JAIL FOR OFFENDING ISLAM

IRAN: POPULAR MUSICIAN SENTENCED TO JAIL FOR OFFENDING ISLAM

Jan 4, 2007, Habib Moftah Bushehri, an internationally renowned musician, has been sentenced to two years in jail in Iran on charges that his music offends Islam. Bushehri, who lives in Paris where he performs with his group, the Ensemble Busherhri, had recently returned to Iran to visit his family. The musician, who is well known with his group as a performer of folk music from southern Iran, is accused of offending religion with his melodies, which mix music performed during Islamic Shiite ceremonies with contemporary pieces, mainly jazz

CONTINUE.....

THE SLOW MARCH: RUSSIA, IRAN AND THE COMING CONFLICTS

THE SLOW MARCH: RUSSIA, IRAN AND THE COMING CONFLICTS
Shawn Black

January 2, 2007: Many throughout the world have believed futilely that Russia, her Islamic allies, and the U.N. have worked for positive change. The 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, have illustrated the serious escalation of radical Islamic attacks and their true intent to destroy Israel and America.During the 1980’s, The United States actively engaged in the fight against communist and socialist agendas that were rapidly spreading around the world. We even dealt with a terrorist leader named Mohammar Kahadfi. We all remember President Reagan’s resolve when he directly dealt with the Libyan Dictator. American pilots paid him a night time visit, bombed his residence and encouraged Mr. Kahadfi to change his direction in life.American foreign policy had changed drastically during the 1990’s. America allowed our policies to be guided under the influence of a hostile and biased United Nations. Those liberal policies pacified terrorist and rogue regimes with money, technology and in return, the U.S. received the fleeting promise of world peace.Today, the Soviet Union enjoys a prosperous resurgence on their economic and world political front. I observed this firsthand in my visit to Moscow and St. Petersburg. I observed a deep vein of acceptance from old policy wonks, which were committed to bringing back the communist agenda. Through former KGB official – and President Vladimir Putin; we see Russia reemerging economically and more politically involved than ever before. And Putin appears to be firmly committed in undermining American foreign policy and entrenching Russia’s Involvement in the Middle East.Russia continues to blaze ahead with alliances to China, Venezuela, Ecuador, and even our old alley-Saudi Arabia. We observe Russian arms and tactics interwoven with such terror groups as hezbollah and hamas. One need not examine the Iraqi war front, or 50 billion in arms sales to her terrorist allies. Connect the dots, they all lead to Russia.Russia’s old communist ideologies are the basic recipe for tyranny in these countries. Their benevolent communist philosophy brainwashes the poor, and only serves to camouflage new tyranny’s emerging in Latin America, Asia and more recently -Mexico. Just ask Venezuela’s Dictator and Russian supported puppet - Hugo Chavez. He wishes to ban privately owned television stations and Presidential term limits.With Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad enriching nuclear weapons and calling for America and Israel’s destruction; we curiously observe Russia’s support of radical Islam in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. And in Iraq, U.S. Troops are fighting against Iranian snipers and IED suicide bomber teams. The radical Islamic revolution, and recent assassinations targeting Christian leaders in Lebanon; point to the slow march in a coming world conflict.It was Sir Winston Churchill who warned the British people before the rise of Adolph Hitler. Through various back door Diplomatic channels, Brittan and America attempted to placate Adolph Hitler. The world paid a heavy price for a diplomacy that ignored the real threat and by placating a madman.The Iraqi study group’s report calling for negations with Iran and Syria, are less than inspiring. Democratic Co-Chairmen Lee Hamilton’s suggestion that we need to negotiate with Moqtada Al Sadr because he is a “powerful guyâ€, borders on stupidity.Now is not the time to pacify, coddle, or ignore this serious world wide threat. Now is not the time to “negotiate†with the terrorist nations of Iran and Syria.The United States should issue the original arrest warrant it once held for Shiite Cleric Moqtada al Sadr. His Militia is directly responsible for the killing hundreds, if not thousands of Iraqi citizens. The U.S. would like to capture him alive. And if he resists, he will meet the same fate as Uday and Qusay Hussein.The U.S. must restabilize control of Iraq by outlawing and eliminating all religious militias that kill and murder their own Iraqi citizens. We must stabilize Iraq by allowing the Iraqi Army to perform and train the Iraqi police recruits. By stabilizing the Police duties, the Army will establish a safe and solid Iraq, free from militias and killers. And if that means we send additional U.S. troops to finish the job, we should steam full speed ahead.The final step is Diplomatic efforts with Russia. We must confront Russia with tough and direct talk. If those talks should fail, the U.S. must move forward with decisive actions against their Iranian and Syrian counterparts who spread the scourge of terror around the world.The hour has come to refocus, stabilize and secure our future. Diplomacy is near the end. And when Diplomacy has failed, America must respond and do so decisively.

“THOSE WHO OBSTINATELY REFUSE TO ACCEPT RELIGION WILL HAVE THE SWORD OF THE 12TH IMAM WILL DECISIVELY COME DOWN ON THEIR NECK”

Moussa Salemi: “Those who obstinately refuse to accept religion will have the sword of the 12th imam will decisively come down on their neck”

2006 Thursday 28 December , Iran Press News: One of the many regime-run news agencies Ayandeh’yeh Roshan reported:
Moussa Salemi, the Friday prayer leader of Asadabad, in an interview with the news agency said: “By the grace of God, the administration of Mr. Ahmadinejad, has been inspired by and received revelations from the command of 12th Imam. The closer we get to “the end of days”, the closer we get to hope. Just as God almighty has promised, soon poverty, discrimination and oppression of people and the real justice will spread on earth. The administration of Mr. Ahmadinejad has also brought these good tiding to people and we are trying to solve those problems; that way we can secure the axis of justice. This is what the 12th Imam wants. Of course we do not expect that this event would happen all that soon. Discussing justice is also good news for the masses. The Revolution happened so that people can attain their desires and as such, today one can smell Imam Mahdi’s justice. The Qur’an has commanded that Muslims do not oppress anyone and that they do not put up with oppression either. This is compatible with logic too. The real Muslim is a person who does not lash out at people. Devotion is also an element of faith and this means that people are safe in his hand. A real Muslim should also stand up to oppression because one of the principles of our religion is jihad. If our foreign policy is to be successful, it should be on this basis. The rule of the 12th Imam – the Mahdi – is also on this basis; it will confront tyrants forcefully and his justice will be very real. Of course we should be aware of the fact that the Imam’s sword will not fall on everyone’s neck. The sword is neither for Muslims or Jews or even infidels, but for tyrants as it is tyrants who stop people’s growth and progress. When the Imam emerges he will enlighten people by discussing religion and when people become totally aware of the nature of religion, their conscience would not permit them to reject what is right. Those who obstinately refuse to accept religion will have the sword of the Imam will decisively come down on their neck.”

ISLAMIC REGIME PROHOBITS CHRISTMAS MASS IN CHURCH IN THE CITY OF RASHT

ISLAMIC REGIME PROHOBITS CHRISTMAS MASS IN CHURCH IN THE CITY OF RASHT

Tuesday 26 December 2006, Iran Press News: Human rights activists in Iran reported that the ministry of intelligence and security (MOIS) officials prohibited the Christmas mass ceremonies in the Church in the northern city of Rasht.
Following the extensive arrest of Christians in cities across Iran by MOIS officials religious ceremonies are prohibited via pressure and threats. Due to the threats and pressure, after the arrest of the leaders of their church in recent weeks, the parishioners of the church have been unable to hold mass.
Three years ago, the church in Rasht was also stormed by MOIS agents during a religious ceremony; the agents then confiscated all of the church’s belongings, never to return them. The parishioners once again refurnished their church and due to the continued threats by MOIS, they changed the days of their worship and mass from Sundays to Tuesdays.
The church leaders remain in MOIS custody. Between Wednesday, December 13th to Tuesday, December 19th the church leaders were taken 3 times from prison to the Rasht revolutionary court where they were illegally tried. Their families are extremely concerned about the status of their loved ones. MOIS agents prevented their families from seeing them in front of courthouse.