EU-DIGEST

An 11-member team from the European Parliament is set to visit Tehran next week, marking the first Western visit to Iran in more than a year.A letter to European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek signed by 15 bipartisan members of the U.S. House of Representatives slammed the decision, saying it would legitimize the Iranian government amid nuclear concerns and mounting social upheaval, The Wall Street Journal reports.

"We urge you not to authorize the visit at this time," the bipartisan letter read.

Note EU-Digest: What nonsense. Has the EU become a US colony? Lets hope not. The EU Parliament should make clear to the US House of Representatives to take care of their own business instead of mingling in EU Parliamentary affairs.

Labels: EU Parliament, Iran, US House Of Representatives

The remarkable refusal of Iran's reformist opposition to give in, and the regime's increasing air of desperation as it attempts, with diminishing legitimacy, to force it to do so, has left many observers, foreign and domestic, wondering whether the second Iranian revolution is finally underway.

With every fatal bullet, with every ill-directed teargas canister and every ill-advised arrest, the heirs to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the Islamic coup d'etat of 1979 find themselves stranded ever more invidiously on the wrong side of history.

Those who rose up with fervent courage to bring down the Shah 30 years ago are now cast in his vacated role of national oppressor, with their own revered martyr, Imam Hossein, used against them to dramatise the cruelty and inequity of their rule.

The fanatical students who drove an American president to ruin, the faithful warriors who faced down Saddam Hussein and his western backers during eight years of war, the ideologues who uniquely placed their supreme leader, the Vali al-Faqih, on the right hand of God, have now themselves become the establishment they so abhorred – incompetent, corrupt, and reviled.

Labels: Iran, Revolution

Fake "North Korean" missiles have been hurtling over the Pacific toward the U.S. for years, providing test fodder for the Pentagon's missile-defense systems. But next month, the fake enemy missiles flying over the same ocean are going to be "Iranian." The timing of the test, however, has nothing to do with a missile test-fired by Iran on Tuesday. That was a medium-range Sajjil-2 missile capable of targeting Israel or U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf. Next month's U.S. interceptor test will, instead, be aimed at the as-yet-hypothetical threat of an Iranian intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), even though such a threat has been deemed by the Obama

Labels: Barack Obama, Iran, US

The European Union must re-build its leadership and reshape its core spending and economic policy to strengthen Europe's ability to compete on a global scale, Lord Mandelson said today. He said the EU needed to "get real" about the need for a strong leadership and radical change in order to keep pace with the "G2" - the US and China - including greater strategic support for innovative, high-growth sectors and low-carbon job-creation.

Labels: EU, Iran

The UN's nuclear watchdog has asked Iran to explain evidence suggesting that Iranian scientists have experimented with an advanced nuclear warhead design, the Guardian has learned. The very existence of the technology, known as a "two-point implosion" device, is officially secret in both the US and Britain, but according to previously unpublished documentation in a dossier compiled by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iranian scientists may have tested high-explosive components of the design. The development was today described by nuclear experts as "breathtaking" and has added urgency to the effort to find a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis.

Labels: Iran

US Senate Panel Authorizes Stronger Iran Sanctions - by Bernie Becker

The Senate Banking Committee unanimously approved legislation on Thursday that would allow the White House to impose stronger sanctions on Iran. The move comes as Iran is apparently turning down a deal to ship out its uranium stockpile amid fears it is trying to develop a nuclear weapon. The Senate bill, passed a day after the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a similar measure, would authorize sanctions against companies that provide the country with refined petroleum products and ban most trade between the two countries, exempting food and medicine.

The measure would also bring more types of companies under sanctions that currently apply to businesses with heavy investments in Iran’s oil and gas sector and require the White House to freeze assets of Iranians known to be active in terrorism.

Labels: Iran, US

Iran, Turkey seek to triple trade by 2014

Iranian First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi says Iran and Turkey have agreed to increase the level of their annual trade exchanges to euro 20 billion ($30 billion). "Following a proposal from Iran, the level of trade between Iran and Turkey will increase to euro 20 billion within the coming 4 to 5 years," IRNA quoted Rahimi as saying on Tuesday. "The level of trade ties between Iran and Turkey presently stands at about euro 8 billion ($11 billion), which is not satisfactory," he added.

Labels: Economy, Iran, Turkey

Turkey chastises the West on Iran

Turkey's prime minister has accused the West of treating Iran unfairly over its nuclear program. Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Britain's Guardian newspaper Western fears Iran wanted to build the bomb were "gossip". Mr Erdogan is due in Tehran for talks with both President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the country's Supreme Leader. The Turkish leader suggested that there was a dual standard in the West's approach towards Iran. He said any military strike against Iran would be "crazy".

Note EU-Digest: let us hope that Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan also questions the brutal police suppression of the opposition forces during the recent Presidential elections in Iran when he visits that country.

Labels: Elections, Iran, Nuclear weapons, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey

Israel must decide on Iran by the spring - by Vaakov Katz

Mark it on your calender: Spring 2010. If everything taking place right now on the Iranian front continues as expected, it is then that Israel will need to make one of its most difficult decisions ever - to attack Iran or allow it to continue with its nuclear program. By the spring of 2010, Israel will know the results of the dialogue between the world's leading powers and Iran that is scheduled to begin on October 1, as well as whether the world will impose real, tough sanctions.

Labels: Iran, Israel

Iran's Shahab Ballistic rocket

For the complete report from TIME Magazine click on this link

Iran's Quiet Coup - by Bobby Gosh

When Iran's parliament confirmed 18 of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's 21 candidates for his Cabinet in early September, only those who sift the tea leaves of Iranian politics noticed the confirmation of Haidar Moslehi, a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), as Minister of Intelligence and Security. For decades, the ministry represented a check on the IRGC's rise toward becoming Iran's most powerful institution: domestic intelligence was out of the guards' reach. With Moslehi's appointment, there is nobody left to guard the guards.

The guards' ascendance, likened by some to a bloodless military coup, has been one of the most striking aspects of Iran's recent development. It has come largely at the expense of the Islamic clergy; while Iran remains a theocratic state, the men in turbans now perhaps wield less temporal power — especially over the economy — than those in uniform.

Labels: Iran, Military

Iran: Spinning out of control

The stakes are rising. A stolen election has ruptured Iranian society, creating the most profound political crisis since the regime was founded. Barack Obama's extended hand is starting to tire and he badly needs success. Meanwhile, the whirring centrifuges spin Iran ever closer to the threshold of being able to manufacture a nuclear bomb. Next week the five permanent members of the UN security council plus Germany and the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, will sit down with Iran's nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, for the first time in a year. They have said they expect a serious response to their demands to halt Tehran's nuclear program, but have yet to receive a commitment that the topic is even on the agenda.The risks of all this are clear.

If Iran refuses to discuss its nuclear program, to answer the International Atomic Energy Agency's mounting questions, and defies a security council demand to suspend all sensitive nuclear activities, the US will revert to a more traditional posture which contemplates the use of force. No one will be happy, except Israel and Dick Cheney perhaps, that Mr Obama's liberal dreams of changing the way superpowers behave will have been shattered by a regime that enjoys even less legitimacy at home than it does abroad.

Note EU-Digest: Use of force is not necessary and would be a stupid move. What could be done effectively to topple the regime is a total embargo on all trade with Iran. The regime already is under lots of pressure at home by opposition parties and a total embargo would certainly topple the present leadership. The opposition parties in Iran must also be encouraged to continue going into the streets and challenge the regime.

Labels: EU, Iran, Nuclear proliferation, US

G20 - Obama: Iran's secret nuke facility 'inconsistent with a peaceful program

President Obama opened G-20 summit day with a bang this morning, condemning Iran for hiding the existence of a secret nuclear facility and demanding that it be opened to international inspections. "The size and configuration of this facility is inconsistent with a peaceful (nuclear) program," Obama said, and further raises concerns that Iran is seeking a nuclear weapon. "Iran is breaking rules that all nations must follow, endangering the global nonproliferation regime," Obama said. "denying its own people access to the opportunity they deserve, and threatening the stability and security of the region and the world."

Obama made the announcement along with Great Britain Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Note EU-Digest: Even though Iran's nuclear adventures are a most serious issue, it is important that the leaders present at the G20 remember that the principal reason they came to Pittsburgh is to work on remedies to correct the serious economic flaws which still exist in the world financial system.

Labels: Britain, EU, France, G20, Iran, Obama, US

Iran's revolution? The hardliners won -by Simon Tisdall

If anyone still wonders what happened to the Iranian revolution of 2009, the answer is: the hardliners won. A raid today on the Tehran office of the vanquished presidential candidate, Mehdi Karoubi, crude threats against leading opposition figures, pre-emptive arrests of students returning to university, more fierce rhetoric aimed at foreign "plotters" – these are but the latest unpleasant manifestations of the regime's retrenchment after the feverish days in June when it nearly lost control.

Mahmoud Amadinejad's reviving confidence is evident, too, in his mockery of western countries keen to revive talks about Iran's nuclear programme. This discussion is closed, the president declared this week, although he offered to discuss "global issues" with Barack Obama any place, any time. The best forum would be live on television, he added. Given that Iran has yet to formally respond to Obama's "unclenched fist" initiative, a second question may also be answered with confidence. Is Iran taking western concerns seriously? No, it is not.

Labels: Iran

The U.S. Hikers in Iran: A More Complicated Diplomatic Problem - by Hadi Mizban

Could the diplomatic rescue mission by Bill Clinton in North Korea be a model for winning the freedom of three American hikers arrested last week when they wandered (apparently by mistake) from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iranian territory? The emotional reunion of journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling with their families in America must have given hope to the relatives of the three hikers, Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Joshua Fattal. If a way was found to solve an impasse between the U.S. and bellicose North Korea, cannot one be devised for the hikers? The current power struggle in Iran has made a quick resolution of the hiker situation unlikely. Until some sort of political stasis is achieved, it will be hard for outsiders to know whom to appeal to for their release. And the potential power brokers in Tehran aren't likely to want to be distracted either.

Labels: Iran, US

A New Supreme Leader for Iran? - by Babak Sarfaraz

People in the know in Iran report that the hottest subject of discussion among Iranian conservative leaders these days is the issue of who is to succeed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is said to be suffering from leukemia. The same individuals report that the person most likely to take Khamenei's mantle is Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, the powerful chief of the Judiciary, whose tenure is scheduled to end within weeks.Shahroudi seems like a perfect fit for the job. At 61, he is at the peak of his powers. A brilliant student of Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr of Iraq (who was himself the father-in-law of Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader today of Iraq's Mahdi Army), Shahroudi is known among his peers for his breadth of religious knowledge and superior intellect. As a political hardliner, he is a dedicated champion of the status quo who has spent the greater part of his life struggling for the establishment or consolidation of Islamic states in Iran and Iraq along the lines set down by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei some forty years ago.

Labels: Iran

Iran reformists seek referendum

"Since millions of Iranians have lost confidence in the electoral process, the Association of Combatant Clerics insist on the organization of a referendum by an independent body," it said in a statement. The association did not specify what question should be put to voters and under the Iranian constitution only the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who presently supports the President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad can organize a referendum. The clerical body also said it supported powerful cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who earlier had made a hard hitting address on Friday criticizing last month's election and the subsequent crackdown on the opposition by the government.

Labels: Elections, Iran, referendum

Rafsanjani speaks out against Iranian regime's handling of post-election turmoil

Today Rafsanjani, one of Iran's most powerful clerics, attacked the Iranian government for its handling of protests and unrest that followed the disputed presidential election result. The situation in Iran is extremely tense, because even as Rafsanjani made his comments, police fired teargas and attacked thousands of opposition supporting demonstrators with batons to try and disperse them.

A vast crowd of mostly opposition supporters and some government supporters had packed the prayer hall and shouted competing slogans. Pro-government hardliners chanted "death to America", while opposition supporters countered with "death to Russia", referring to the Iranian government's ties to Moscow. Most of the pro-reform worshipers had green headbands, wristbands and prayer rugs in green – the color of the opposition movement.

Mousavi attended the Friday prayers for the first time since the election. During Rafsanjani's sermon, the crowd inside the hall at Tehran University could be heard chanting, not only inside, but also outside and even via the state radio, "Mousavi, Mousavi, we support you." Tonight the situation remains extremely tense in Teheran were earlier at least 15 people were arrested, including a well known women's rights activist.

Labels: Iran

Israeli Defense official: "Israel readying for attack on Iran" - by Amos Harel, Anshel Pfeffer and Jack Khoury

"Israel's recent deployment of warships across the Red Sea should be seen as serious preparation for an attack on Iran, an Israeli defense official told the Times of London on Thursday.Earlier this week, two Israel Navy gunboats openly sailed through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea. The ships that passed through the Suez Canal on Tuesday were two Sa'ar 5 gunboats, the Hanit and the Eilat. This follows a similar incident in late June, when an Israeli Dolphin-class submarine passed through the canal, later returning the same way. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit confirmed the crossings and said that Cairo's agreements with Jerusalem permit Israeli military ships to transit the canal. He declined to speculate on whether the voyage was meant as a warning to Iran or anyone else.

Israel has an interest in a naval presence in the Red Sea for two reasons: the effort to halt arms smuggling from Iran to the Gaza Strip - which, according to international media reports, mainly takes place by sea from Iran to Sudan, and then overland via Egypt, and the effort to bolster its deterrence against Iran in the event of a direct conflict breaking out." Note EU-Digest: this is sensationalist reporting, because in reality Israel would certainly not carry out open naval activities if it was planning to attack another country or carry out surveillance activities. So the above report seems to be mainly for the purpose of intimidation and seems to be in-line with recent statements made by the US State Department.

Labels: Egypt, Iran, Israel, Nuclear proliferation, US

Tehran readies proposals for West

Iran is preparing a package of proposals to present to Western powers that could be a basis for future talks, the country's foreign minister said Saturday. Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters that the package will deal with political and economic issues as well as security and international affairs, but he did not say whether its proposals also covered Iran's nuclear activities.

The U.S. and its European allies want to draw Iran back into negotiations over its nuclear program. At the Group of Eight summit in Italy last week, President Obama said there is now a September "time frame" for Iran to respond to offers to discuss its nuclear program.

Labels: EU, Iran, Nuclear proliferation, US

Iran protests continue: Clashes erupt in streets of Tehran - by Ramin Mostaghim and Borzou Daragahi

Violent clashes erupted yesterday (Thursday) in downtown Tehran between thousands of defiant protesters chanting "Death to the dictator" and security forces wielding truncheons, as the political crisis over Iran's disputed presidential election stretched into its fourth week. Contingents of uniformed and plainclothes security forces flooded the city's central squares and managed with batons and tear gas to eventually disperse the demonstrators, many of whom wore black and held up their fingers in V-for-victory salutes.

Though the number of protesters was nowhere close to the hundreds of thousands who took to the streets soon after the election, organizers showed that they could quickly assemble a crowd despite the efforts of security forces. Thursday was also the anniversary of a student uprising that was violently crushed by the government 10 years ago -- a perennial occasion for confrontations between demonstrators and police. "It is going to continue," vowed a marcher in his 60s, big drops of sweat on his forehead. "They have killed our dear youth. How can we forgive them?"

Labels: Elections, Iran

EU ready to enforce travel bans on Iran officials among rumors from Iran that Ahmadinejad is on the way out

The Financial Times Deutschland reported today that the European Union is considering banning some Iranian officials from traveling to Europe in response to the recent political unrest in Iran following the rigged election. The Swedish EU presidency which has just taken over from the Czech Republic has warned that the EU is ready to take serious action if Iran does not free British embassy staff still detained in Tehran. Another plan being circulated around the 27 member EU is to recall ambassadors for a few days as a sign of protest.

Out of Iran come persistent rumors that Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is discussing the possibility within the Iran leadership to declare the election null and void and agree to new elections supervised by some international body like the UN. It is said that he understands the cards are presently stacked against Iran, if President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remains in power, and that distancing himself from Ahmadinejad would reestablish him as a a credible political broker.

Labels: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, EU, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Iran-Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ready to dump Ahmadinejad who is facing diplomatic isolation- by Jeffrey Fleishman and Borzou Daragahi

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad can in one instant appear the diplomatic equivalent of damaged goods and in the next a confident leader whose bellicose speeches leave the West wondering how to deal with him and his perplexing nation now that he's won a much-disputed reelection. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev publicly greeted Ahmadinejad at a recent meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, but did not grant him a private meeting as he had the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan. In Belarus, the Iranian leader was met not by President Alexander Lukashenko, but by the speaker of the upper house of parliament.A similar pattern has emerged in the Middle East, where Arab regimes have long been wary of Iran's ambitions. Authorities in Jordan withdrew licenses for two Iranian news organizations this week and the sultan of Oman reportedly canceled a trip to Tehran following the unrest after Iran's June 12 election.

Note EU-Digest:Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could, if he wanted to, change the perception of the Iran leadership immediately, and even qualify himself as an honest broker, by declaring the election null and void and agreeing to new elections supervised by some international body like the UN. It would certainly take the pressure off him. Will he do so? Nobody really knows, but he certainly is clever enough to see how the cards are stacked against Iran if President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remains in power, and this charade continues.

Labels: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Iran says Europe no longer qualified to conduct nuclear talks- by Lucia Kubosova

Iran says Europe is no longer qualified to hold nuclear talks due to its meddling with the post-election protests in the country, with Sweden, as the new EU presidency, calling up officials from the 27-member bloc to discuss the next diplomatic move. The EU has played a significant part in international efforts to make Tehran comply with the world's rules on nuclear power. Three EU states - Germany, France, and the UK - have been leading the negotiations along with the US, Russia and China. Speaking to journalists at the official opening of the presidency, Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeld made clear that Europe wants to support the democratic forces in Iran but also avoid isolating the country from the rest of the world. "That's the balance we need to strike," he said.

EU-Digest: Mr. Fredrik Reinfeld is certainly capable in coming up with a stronger comment than this "wishy-washy" statement he made on Iran?

Labels: Democracy, EU, Iran, Nuclear proliferation, Sanctions, Sweden

Time for an Israeli Strike? - by John R.Bolton

With Iran's hard-line mullahs and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps unmistakably back in control, Israel's decision of whether to use military force against Tehran's nuclear weapons program is more urgent than ever. In short, the stolen election and its tumultuous aftermath have dramatically highlighted the strategic and tactical flaws in Obama's game plan. With regime change off the table for the coming critical period in Iran's nuclear program, Israel's decision on using force is both easier and more urgent. Since there is no likelihood that diplomacy will start or finish in time, or even progress far enough to make any real difference, there is no point waiting for negotiations to play out. In fact, given the near certainty of Obama changing his definition of "success," negotiations represent an even more dangerous trap for Israel.

Note EU-Digest: Mr. Bolton still believes that power comes from the barrel of a gun. This is not only dangerous but also shows no sense of reality. Most people will agree that the present Iran regime is untrustworthy and potentially dangerous to the region but there are better ways to topple them than Mr. Bolton suggests. One of them is to support democratic forces in that country with every possible method of assistance except direct intervention and to tighten economic sanctions.

Labels: Iran, Israel

Iran Escalates Its Fight With Britain; New Clashes Erupt - by Michael Slackman

Iran’s government said Sunday that it had arrested Iranian employees of the British Embassy, while the police in Tehran beat and fired tear gas at several thousand protesters who joined a demonstration at a mosque in support of defeated presidential candidate Mir Hussein Moussavi. The government’s arrest of nine Iranian employees of the British Embassy marked a significant escalation in its conflict with Britain, which Tehran has sought to cast as an instigator of the unrest since the disputed June 12 election. It said the embassy employees played a significant role in organizing the protests, which have reached across the country and across social and economic lines. Tehran also continued to charge journalists with working as agents of discord, publishing one editor’s “confession” while continuing to keep others behind bars without charge or barred from working.

The arrests, detentions and restrictions added to Iran’s growing international isolation, as European Union foreign ministers meeting in Corfu, Greece, warned in a statement that there would be a “strong and collective EU response” to any intimidation of its members’ diplomatic staffs. The British foreign ministry said some of its personnel had been released, but declined to provide details.

Labels: Britain, EU, Iran

For the complete report from the Huffington Post click on this link

Michael Jackson & the Media (Hello! What Happened to Iran? )- by Marcia G.Yerman

Everybody has weighed in on Jackson's death, from Cher on the Larry King show to Christine Hefner and Al Sharpton on MSNBC. This morning, the live coverage of the President's news conference with German Chancellor Merkel felt like it was squeezed in, between a further dissection of the Jackson persona - ranging from references to him as a Mozartian genius to a suspected pedophile.

However, the watershed image of loss for me of the past week was not the "King of Pop," with his unique musical skills, wonderful dancing, and gloved hand. It was the picture of Neda Agha Soltan brutally killed in Iran, looking squarely into the camera, for what may have been a passport photo.

Note EU-Digest: there is not one artist in the world who deserves adulteration following his death. Admiration maybe, but this total craziness we are seeing now with Michael Jackson absolutely not.

Labels: Agha Soltan, Iran, Michael Jackson

Why Europe Is Talking Tougher than Obama on Iran - by Eben Harrell

While President Obama has chosen a deliberately measured response to the contested Iranian election, European leaders have been far less restrained in their comments. On June 16, four days after the presidential election, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called the contested poll a "tragedy" and added that "the extent of the fraud is proportional to the violent reaction." That same day, the Italian Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, said the violence in the streets and the deaths of protesters were "unacceptable." Three days later, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown referred to "the repression and the brutality" in Iran. Over the weekend, German Chancellor Angela Merkel went further, calling on Iran's leaders to "allow peaceful demonstrations, allow free reporting of events, stop the use of violence against demonstrators and free imprisoned people."

Labels: EU, Iran, US

Iran overtakes Saudi as China's No.1 crude supplier

Iran overtook Saudi Arabia in May as China's top crude supplier, Chinese customs data showed on Monday, but traders said it was partly due to a supply cut from the Saudis. Beijing-based trading officials cautioned against reading too much into one month's figures, which they said may have been skewed due to technical problems such as port congestion that pushed back or forth imported cargoes for customs clearance. Iran, the world's fifth-largest crude exporter, shipped into China 3.088 million tonnes of crude, or 727,000 barrels per day last month, a rise of 88 percent from a year ago.

Labels: China, Iran, Oil Industry

Britain evacuates families of embassy staff in Iran - by Haroon Siddique

The Foreign Office said today it was evacuating the families of embassy staff in Iran and advised against all non-essential travel to the country after the violent crackdown on street protests following the disputed presidential election. The decision comes after the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Friday described Britain as the "most treacherous" of Iran's enemies and blamed foreign interference for the unrest in the country. In response, Iran's ambassador to London was summoned to the Foreign Office and told that Khamenei's remarks were unacceptable. Gordon Brown later condemned the "repression" and "brutality" used against the protesters.

Labels: A350 XWB, Airbus, Britain, Iran

EU may coordinate aid to Iran's protesters

A European Union-wide proposal to coordinate aid for wounded Iranian demonstrators was expected to be discussed Wednesday in Stockholm, ministers said. Embassies of several EU countries opened their gates to wounded protesters, including Italy, which said it instructed its mission in Tehran to assist "where there is a request or need for help from injured demonstrators," EUobserver reported Monday. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout said that the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned the Czech charge d'affaires and "his 26 colleagues from the European Union" in Tehran. Through a spokesman, Kohout said the EU diplomats were summoned "and they were not allowed to present their positions."

Labels: EU, Iran

Dutch foreign minister renews protest over Iran violence

Dutch foreign minister Maxime Verhagen has lodged a renewed protest with the Iranian chargé d’affaires in The Hague over what he described as excessive violence used against demonstrators in Iran over the weekend. Verhagen reported the move on Sunday evening while responding to the way foreign diplomats have come under attack on Iranian state-run television. Like many other Western countries, the Netherlands last week protested to Iran about the circumstances of its presidential election. Verhagen, who is currently on a tour of Syria, Israel and the Palestinian territories, expressed his concern both at the way the Iranian election was conducted and at the degree of violence used to suppress demonstrations. He also complained about the obstruction of foreign journalists in Iran, among them Dutch correspondents.

Labels: EU, Iran, Netherlands

France's denounces 'brutal repression' in Iran, rejects accusations of interference - by Angela Charlton

France's top diplomat on Sunday condemned the "brutal repression" of dissent by Iranian authorities and rejected accusations of foreign interference in Iran's worst political unrest in 30 years. Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Iranian officials had summoned the diplomatic corps in Tehran on Sunday and made "unacceptable statements about several foreign leaders. It is not with such insults that the Iranian government will respond to the aspirations of its people," he said. While the U.S. and some other governments have been cautious in their response to Iran's post election protests, France has been critical of Iran's leadership and supportive of the protesters.

Labels: EU, France, Iran

Is Iran Heading Toward A Military Coup? - by Abbas Milani

The Iranian regime is currently facing one of the greatest challenges of its 30-year history. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei--whose rule has been absolute and whose words have been the law of the land--is facing the most public challenge to his authority. His two decades since succeeding Ayatollah Khomeini have been defined by a tendency to keep his options open, a verbal dexterity that allowed him to skirt tough political positions, and an appearance of impartiality in Iran's fierce factional feuds. His caution has been the key to his success and survival. But Khamenei has thrown this caution to the wind by unabashedly favoring Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.The ayatollah failed to recognize the mounting tension over this month's presidential election--what former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani described in a pre-election letter to him as a seething "volcano" of discontent. Even Sobhe-Sadeq, the political organ of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, warned in a lead editorial that the opposition's use of the color green had become dangerously similar to the kind of "color revolution" that dethroned governments in Ukraine, Lebanon, and Georgia.

If Khamenei wants a crackdown on the Green movement, he will have to turn to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)--a move that brings its own political costs. It is difficult to imagine the IRGC quelling the current protests and then simply turning power over to the clergy. If a political compromise cannot be reached between the regime and the opposition, and the IRGC is used in suppressing the protests, its commanders would likely expect a bigger role in the government. It is even conceivable that faced with irresolution among the clergy, they will act on their own, and establish a military dictatorship that uses Islam as its ideological veneer--similar to Pakistan under Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.

Labels: Democracy, Iran, Military, Revolution

How Iran is ruled-a complex political system - with the power in clergy hands - Ahmadinejad heckled coming out of the Teheran University today

The Supreme Leader, currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, appoints the head of the judiciary, six of the members of the powerful Guardian Council, the commanders of all the armed forces, Friday prayer leaders and the head of radio and TV. He also confirms the president's election. The Leader is chosen by the clerics who make up the Assembly of Experts. Periodic tension between the office of the Leader and the office of the president has often been the source of political instability. It increased during former president reformist Mohammad Khatami's term in office - a reflection of the deeper tensions between religious rule and the democratic aspirations of many Iranians.

Note EU-Digest: click on this link to see how Ahmadinejad was heckled when he came out of Teheran University today following the speech by his chief, Iran's "supreme leader", Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Labels: Democracy, Iran, Revolution

The Green Revolution Belongs to the Iranians, Not the United States - by Cynthia Boaz

Do folks really think US agencies -- of whom the Iranian people have every reason to be suspicious given the last 8 years (and beyond) -- are capable of mobilizing hundreds of thousands of people who are ten thousand miles away...and then getting them to continue showing up on the streets, even when they're being shot at? The notion is ridiculous, even ethnocentric in that it presumes that Iranians are so ignorant that they'd turn out in scores to risk their lives just because an American agency suggested it. No, the Green Revolution belongs solely to the Iranians.

The reality is that regardless of political party or ideology, anyone who claims an affinity for democracy as people power owes it to the courageous Iranian people to recognize their resistance as such. To seriously question the Iranians' ownership of their struggle serves the interests of a brutal regime and risks undermining the morale of individuals participating in a true peoples' movement.

Labels: Democracy, Iran, Revolution

In Coverage of Iran, Amateurs Take the Lead - by Brian Stelter

As foreign journalists are forced to leave Tehran amid protests, news organizations are looking more and more to the Iranians themselves to provide the news, or at least the pictures. Dozens of videos of the sometimes violent protests by opponents of the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have appeared on YouTube and other sites in the days after last Friday’s presidential election. Newspapers and television news networks are supplementing their on-the-ground reporting with the images, with frequent caveats that their authenticity cannot be verified.

Labels: Iran, Twitter

EU deplores recent events in Iran

A spokesman for the European Commission urged Iranian authorities to allow peaceful demonstrations in the country where civil unrest appears to have reached levels unseen since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. "The commission is indeed very concerned," said spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio. "We regret the violence and the loss of life and we call on the Iranian authorities to respect the right to demonstrate in a peaceful manner. "We underline the right to protest in a peaceful way, which must be respected by the Iranian security forces," he added.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned a senior European diplomat on Tuesday to complain about the EU's reaction to the fatalities in the capital Tehran.
"Neither the European Union nor other countries are in a position to have the right to make rude and interfering remarks against Iran, especially about our "glorious election"," the Foreign Ministry told the Czech charge d'affairs, Josef Havlas.

Labels: EU, Iran

Iran cancels foreign media accreditation

The Culture Ministry said journalists could continue to work from their offices but that it was canceling press accreditation for all foreign media. ‘No journalist has permission to report or film or take pictures in the city,’ a Culture Ministry official told Reuters. The announcement came after three days of streets protests against Iran’s election results, during which at least seven people were reported to have been killed.

Labels: Elections, Iran

When Obama Administration Iran czar Dennis Ross and top U.S. Iran negotiator William Burns were planning the details of the President's outreach to Tehran with senior European diplomats earlier this spring, they discussed a possible nightmare scenario for the June 12 presidential elections in Iran. It was not, however, the prospect that incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad might win, or even that he might steal the election, as many are alleging he now has, that had them worried. Quite the opposite, it was the possibility that the provocative Iranian President might lose to a moderate challenger.

Ahmadinejad's win may increase Washington's chances of getting tougher sanctions on Iran if they refuse to negotiate, the officials said. Ahmadinejad personifies Iran's unpredictable, dangerous side. He made even more hostile and threatening statements toward Israel and the U.S. during the campaign. And though they dare not say it publicly, Administration officials privately say that the messier and more contentious the post-election period, the more it sends the message to the outside world that even if some Iranians want moderation the hard-liners will not allow it.

Labels: EU, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, US

Iran reformists held after street clashes

Up to 100 members of Iranian reformist groups have been arrested, accused of orchestrating violence after the disputed presidential election result. Backers of defeated reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi were rounded up overnight, reports said, including the brother of ex-President Khatami. Angry crowds took to the streets to protest against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election, in spite of Mr Mousavi's post-election call to avoid violence. He has refused to accept the election result, calling it a "dangerous charade" and alleging wide-scale irregularities.

The European Union and Canada have voiced concern about allegations of irregularities. BBC correspondent John Simpson, in Tehran, says the truth about this election may never be known. But many observers in Iran feel that the final result did not reflect the extraordinary numbers of people who turned out to vote, he added.

Labels: Elections, Iran

Primary results say Ahmadinejad is winner of elections in Iran

Primary results of the 10th Presidential Elections show that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has got the majority of the votes. According to the head of Elections Headquarters Kamran Daneshjoo, Ahmadinejad has recieved 69.04 percent of the counted votes until 23:50 hours local time. Daneshjoo said Mir Hossein Mossavi has got 28.42 percent, Mohsen Rezaee 1.62 percent and Mehdi Karrobi 0.9 percent of the votes.

Labels: Elections, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Will Israel Attack? Mixed Messages from Washington Could Lead to Catastrophe in Iran - by Roane Carey

Israel has been steadily ratcheting up pressure on the United States concerning the grave threat allegedly posed by Iran, which seems poised to master the nuclear fuel cycle, and thus the capacity to produce nuclear weapons. The new Israeli prime minister, Likud Party hawk Benjamin Netanyahu, has warned President Barack Obama that if Washington does not quickly find a way to shut down Iran's nuclear program, Israel will. Some analysts argue that this is manufactured hysteria, not so much a reflection of genuine Israeli fears as a purposeful diversion from other looming difficulties. The Netanyahu government is filled with hardliners adamantly opposed to withdrawal from, or even a temporary freeze on, settlements in the occupied territories, not to mention to any acceptance of Palestinian statehood. On his first day as foreign minister, extremist demagogue Avigdor Lieberman, with characteristic bluster, announced that Israel was no longer bound by the 2007 Annapolis agreements brokered by Washington, which called for accelerated negotiations toward a two-state settlement.

Labels: Iran, Israel, US

Iran accuses Netherlands of overthrow plot

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards has accused the Netherlands of plotting to overthrow the Islamic regime by supporting the opposition through the media and the Internet, a newspaper reported on Saturday. "One of the countries which has given financial support to the opposition over the past few years is Holland," according to a statement issued by a centre run by the Guards, the Khorasan newspaper said. It said the parliament in the Netherlands had in 2005 adopted a 15 million euro budget proposed by a Dutch MP of Iranian origin which was used to fund Persian Internet sites hostile to the Islamic regime and to help rights groups. "The Dutch project aimed to encourage sexual and moral deviation in society," the Revolutionary Guards centre said, and to support the idea that the "threats (against Iran) are increasing (and) ... the idea that the current Iranian government is incapacitated."

Note EU-Digest: If it only takes the Netherlands 15-million euros to harm the Iranian government then maybe the U.S. has seriously overestimated Iran's potential as a threat and should look into cutting the budget for toppling their Government.

Labels: EU, Iran, The Netherlands, US

Iran signals interest in talks with U.S. following Obama's overtures to Iran (Impact on Israel) - by Warren P.Strobel

Iran gave its first sign Tuesday it's interested in exploring President Barack Obama's offers of dialogue, with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad saying his country "is ready to hold talks, but talks in a fair atmosphere with mutual respect." It was the most positive response yet by an Iranian leader to Obama's repeated signals that he'll offer a new approach. "The new U.S. government has announced that it wants to create change and follow the path of talks. It's very clear that true changes should be fundamental and not tactical," Ahmadinejad said.

Note EU-Digest: "The recent "rapprochement" between President Barack Obama and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should probably also be seen as a signal to Israeli President Shimon Peres to give Tzipi Livni, the head of the more moderate Kadima party, winner of yesterdays Israeli election, a fair chance to form a moderate Israeli unity government instead of one run by right-wing hardliner Benjamin Netanyahu and ultra-nationalist Avigdor Lieberman, who is battling a corruption investigation again him. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni appealed today (Wednesday)to rightist Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu to join a national unity government that Livni would lead at the head of her centrist Kadima party."

Labels: Barack Obama, EU, Iran, Israel, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Shimon Peres, US

Iran - Ahmadinejad rides the American tide - by Sami Moubayed

The Iranian street was clearly impressed by the new tone of United States President Barack Obama, who stressed, first in his inauguration speech and then through the Saudi channel al-Arabiyya, a willingness to conduct serious dialogue with Tehran, if it "unclenched its fist". Secretary of State Hillary Clinton echoed Obama's words, saying that Iran had a "clear opportunity" to engage with the international community, taking the head-start from the new US president. "We've got a lot of damage to repair," she added, words that made headlines in Persian newspapers around Iran. Iran today is not the same Iran that existed in the 1980s. Former presidents such as Khamenei, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Khatami were all clerics. Ahmadinejad is not. Iran is moving away from political Islam, although many in the West refuse to admit that and despite the fact that it remains dominant in the constitution and structure of government. Ahmadinejad won in 2005, and will likely win in 2009, but not because he has an Islamic agenda.

Currently, unemployment in Iran is at 16% while female unemployment stands at a staggering 21.2%. Another 31% of young men and women, aged 15-29, are unemployed. Within this range, 34% are in the 15-19 age group and 16% in 25-29. In three years, due to a growth rate of 13.2%, the rate of unemployed youth will be 52%. Currently, 800,000 Iranian youth enter the job market every year and the president has not been able to provide all of them with jobs, as he promised he would do in 2005.

Labels: Ahmadinejad, EU, Iran, US

Neocons alive and well-- Using Present Middle East Conflict To Push For War Against Iran - by Ellen

“Fair and balanced” FOX News offered (chicken)hawk John Bolton as its sole guest to discuss the latest Israeli conflict on last night's (12/29/08) Hannity & Colmes. As Jane Hamsher pointed out in an interesting post, the knee-jerk, pro-Israel American media response is beginning to change. But not on FOX News. In nearly three hours of prime time (I tuned out after On The Record began rehashing the white gal overboard story also discussed on H&C), only Alan Colmes cast doubt on Israel's tactics, though he was more skeptical than critical. Nobody else even went that far. But Bolton didn't just support Israel. As he has whenever the subject of the Middle East comes up, he used it as a rationale for ratcheted up militarism and a strike against Iran.

Bolton said, “every problem in the region that we have now gets worse once Iran gets nuclear weapons. And I'm afraid we are ever closer to that point... I don't think there's anything at this point standing between Iran and nuclear weapons other than the possibility of the use of military force, possibly by the United States, possibly by Israel. I don't see the Bush administration doing it. So it could well come down to Israel.”

Labels: Hamas, Iran, Israel, US

Iranian students signing up to fight Israel

Some 7,000 Iranian students in the city of Isfahan have volunteered to fight for Palestine against Israel while more students are signing up in Tehran, the Fars news agency said on Tuesday. On Sunday, Iran's religious leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a religious decree calling for a jihad against Israel for its air strikes on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip that started on Saturday leaving around 360 Palestinians dead and over 1,500 wounded. "In response to the supreme leader's orders for a jihad (holy war), students from the bassij militia are going to register . . . to go to fight in the occupied Palestinian territories," Fars cited Alireza Zahedi as saying on Monday.In response to Israeli air strikes, Palestinian militants launched over 80 rockets and mortar shells on southern Israel killing three people with over 35 others injured, some of them seriously.Iran does not officially recognize the state of Israel and finances the militant political faction Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007.

Labels: Gaza, Hamas, Iran, Israel

Iran hardliners register volunteers to fight Israel

A group of Iranian hard-line clerics is signing up volunteers to fight in the Gaza Strip in response to Israel's air strikes that have killed at least 300 Palestinians, a news agency reported on Monday. "From Monday the Combatant Clergy Society has activated its website www.rohaniatmobarez.com for a week to register volunteers to fight against the Zionist regime (Israel) in either the military, financial or propaganda fields," the semi-official Fars news agency said.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a religious decree to Muslims around the world on Sunday, ordering them to defend Palestinians in Gaza against Israeli attacks "in any way possible." A religious decree is an official statement by a high-ranking religious leader that commands Muslims to carry out its message. While there is no religious and legal force behind it, Khamenei is respected by many Iranian and non-Iranian Shi'ites.

Labels: Hamas, Iran, Israel

Obama aide Brzezinski, ex-Carter adviser, sees Iran ties modeled on China opening - by Indira A.R. Lakshmanan

A campaign adviser to President-elect Barack Obama who helped President Jimmy Carter open full diplomatic ties with communist China said eventual normalization of relations with Iran would benefit the U.S. Zbigniew Brzezinski, 80, a former national security adviser who traveled to Beijing 30 years ago to pave the way for the new relationship, said today that taking a similar path with Iran may help reshape its anti-American government. "One of the reasons that I do favor a dialogue with the Iranians, and if it is feasible, the establishment of normal diplomatic relationships, is that I think that would help promote political change in a country which is far less centrally controlled, far less subject to effective state authority than was or is the case in the People's Republic of China," he said.

Labels: Barack Obama, Iran, USA

Iran, Belarus to set up joint economic commission

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and Belarusian Prime Minister Sergey Sidorskiy agreed in a meeting on Thursday in Minsk to establish a joint economic commission in order to expand relations. Mottaki and his political-economic delegation arrived in the Belarusian capital on Thursday. “Iran-Belarus relations have always been progressing, based on mutual respect and common interests,” Mottaki said, adding that the two states’ political bodies were determined to “expand and deepen relations.”

Labels: Belarus, Iran

Europe is waiting to see how Obama plays Iran - John Vinocur

What worries the Europeans, but particularly the French, who hold the European Union's rotating presidency until Jan. 1, is what Obama intends to do once he is in the White House.Wary of challenging Obama's current reservoir of international prestige and support, the European leadership's concerns on Iran are only half-articulated.But they go to fears of being cut out of the process in the direct U.S.-Iran talks Obama has promised and losing a means to bring pressure against eventual military action.

What do Obama's campaign pledges about talking to Iran "directly" and "without preconditions" mean now? And how influential are U.S. experts who argue he should run around Russia's chokehold on the UN Security Council's initiatives and sanctions by starting head-on, "all options on the table" negotiations with the mullahs?

Labels: Barack Obama, EU, Iran

'Israel war on Iran on the radar'

A senior European Union diplomat says the perfect time for Israel to strike Iranian nuclear installations 'is between now and January 20'. "A possible Israeli strike against Iran is not completely off the radar," Turkish paper Hurriyet quoted the diplomat as saying. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Friday that Tel Aviv is 'convinced that Iran continues to try to build a nuclear weapon'.Israel, meanwhile, argues that the use of military force is a legitimate option in halting Iran's nuclear progress. "Israelis would consider a move such as this before Bush and Cheney leave," said the EU diplomat, adding that once Obama takes office, Israel's chances of striking Iran would be off the agenda.

Note EU-Digest: One can only pray and hope this dangerous plan does not materialize. Unfortunately it has a far better chance to succeed than the possibility of Obama breaking loose from the Jewish lobby's terror and giving Israel and the Palestinians an ultimatum: "No more financial aid or political support until Israel dismantles all its settlements and roadblocks, and withdraws to the agreed-upon borders, and you the Palestinians no more support until rocket attacks on Israel cease."

Labels: Barack Obama, EU, Iran, Israel, War

Watching Obama from Tehran

Iranian President Ahmadinejad has great admiration for his own fortune-telling capabilities. For years, he has been making all kinds of predictions. Among his most famous are the destruction of Israel and the end of the “U.S. empire.” In March 2008, he made another prediction. “They would not allow Obama to become the U.S. president,” declared the Iranian president confidently in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais. This new failure in his clairvoyance has probably disappointed the president. Nevertheless, he took the time to congratulate the man he thought would never become president by saying, “Tehran welcomes basic and fair changes in U.S. policies and conducts.” He added what is obviously his idea of helpful advice: ”I hope you will prefer real public interests and justice to the never-ending demands of a selfish minority and seize the opportunity to serve people so that you will be remembered with high esteem.”

Despite this message, the conservative hard-line camp in Iran is worried about the overwhelming enthusiasm and support for the U.S. that Obama’s election has created around the world. A popular American president who talks about peace and wants to negotiate with Iran would take away their justification for leading the anti-American front in the Middle East. The most intriguing reaction to Obama’s victory in Iran was reported by the Saudi-based Al Arabiya. In a report, this news outlet said that some Iranian officials had interpreted Obama’s election as as a sign of the arrival of the Mahdi. This is because Obama’s first name, Barack, means blessing and his second name, Hussein, is the name of the third Shiite imam who Iranians revere. The Saudi channel refused to reveal the name of the Iranian website on which its reports were based. Note EU-Digest: According to the Muslims al-Mahdi is "the rightly-guided one" who, based on Islamic Hadiths (traditions), will come before the end of time to make the entire world Muslim. Over the last 1400 years numerous claimants to the mantle of the Mahdi have arisen in both Shi`i and Sunni circles.

Labels: Ahmadinejad, Barack Obama, Iran, US

Turkey-Iran trade exceeds euro 8.7b (US$ 11b)

Turkish Foreign Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen announced on Friday that Tehran-Ankara trade exceeded 11 billion dollars in the current Iranian calendar year (to end on March 20, 2009). Such a trade volume is an indication to existence of close economic cooperation between the two nations, he added. He made his remarks in a meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Istanbul on ‘Europe and Central Asia’.

Labels: Iran, Turkey

Iran opens trade center in Netherlands

The Mehr News Agency quoted TPOI Director for Foreign Branches Affairs Hamid Zadbum as saying that a number of Iranian and Dutch traders as well as Iran-Netherlands Cultural Council members also attended the inaugural ceremony. The two sides expressed hope that the trade center would pave the way for the two-way trade in the long run, Zadbum said, adding, they announced their full-fledged support of any activity which would enhance bilateral economic and commercial relations.

Labels: EU, Iran, Netherlands, Trade

Russia, Iran, Qatar discuss OPEC-style gas cartel

Russia, Iran and Qatar took their first serious steps toward forming an OPEC-style cartel for natural gas on Tuesday, a prospect that has unnerved energy-importing nations in Europe and the United States. The three countries together account for 60 percent of the world's gas reserves, and Russia and Iran have both been accused of using their hold on energy supplies to bully neighboring countries. The European Union, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas, criticized the proposal, saying "energy supplies have to be sold in a free market."

Note EU-Digest: The three countries do not control 60% of the gas supplies and the idea of a gas cartel makes little sense unless it includes at least the top ten suppliers of natural gas which are:

1. Russia … 656.2 billion cubic meters (19.9% of estimated world total)

2. United States … 490.8 billion cubic meters (14.9%)

3. Canada … 178.2 billion cubic meters (5.4%)

4. Iran … 101 billion cubic meters (3.1%)

5. Algeria … 84.4 billion cubic meters (2.6%)

6. United Kingdom … 84.2 billion cubic meters (2.6%)

7. Norway … 83.4 billion cubic meters (2.5%)

8. Netherlands … 77.3 billion cubic meters (2.3%)

9. Indonesia … 74 billion cubic meters (2.2%)

10. Turkmenistan … 72.3 billion cubic meters (2.2%).

Labels: Cartel, Gas Supplies, Iran, Quatar, Russia

IAEA 'puts Israeli nukes on agenda'

The UN nuclear watchdog has unanimously agreed to put the issue of Israel's nuclear capabilities on the agenda of its annual meeting. After requests by the Non-Aligned Movement and the Arab League, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agreed to put the issue of Israel's nuclear capabilities on the agenda of the 52nd annual meeting of the UN body.

The move was initially met with protests by the US and Canada but the two countries had to back down from their position after they realized that other member states of the IAEA meeting's presidential board would not support their stance, an informed source told Fars News Agency on Monday. Israel is believed to possess the only nuclear arsenal of the Middle East but it has so far refused to allow IAEA inspectors to visit its nuclear sites.

Labels: IAEA, Iran, Israel, Middle East, Nuclear weapons

EU Assessment: Israel Incapable of Stopping Iran Nuclear pogram. Program

EU diplomatic sources who specialize in the Middle East believe that Israel cannot stop the Iranian nuclear program on its own using military means. "Iran's counterstrike would not be the end of the story. There is no military solution and no stabilizing outcome," the EU source said. The assessment comes within the context of serious concerns in Europe that Israel, feeling its back against the wall, would strike Iran's nuclear facilities, even under the assumption that such action would only set back the Iranian program, not destroy it. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has told the German government, for example, that Israel will not allow Iran to go nuclear. At the same time, the overall assessment in the EU is that sanctions have not significantly impacted Iranian policy thus far, and are unlikely to do so in the future. EU sources also consider it unrealistic to expect any pressures on Tehran over its nuclear drive to result in a regime change.

In his latest report to the 35-nation Board of Governors, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei confirmed "the non-diversion" of nuclear material in Iran and added that the agency had found no "components of a nuclear weapon" or "related nuclear physics studies" in the country. The IAEA report confirmed that Iran has managed to enrich uranium-235 to a level 'less than 5 percent.' Such a rate is consistent with the construction of a nuclear power plant. Nuclear arms production, meanwhile, requires an enrichment level of above 90 percent.

Labels: EU, Iran, US

Sarkozy Says Iran May Provoke Israeli Attack, Causing Disaster - by Francois de Beaupuy

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Iran's nuclear program may provoke an attack by Israel, urging the Islamic republic to accept international inspections. ``Iran is taking a major risk in continuing its process of obtaining nuclear weapons, which we are certain is happening,'' Sarkozy said today in Damascus, Syria. ``One day, whatever the Israeli government is, we can imagine ourselves one morning with an Israel that would have attacked. That would be a disaster.''

Labels: EU, Iran, Israel, Sarkozy

Dutch recall spy from Iran fearing U.S. attack

The Dutch intelligence service stopped an espionage operation in Iran because of an "impending U.S. attack." A top agent was recalled from what was described as a successful operation to infiltrate and sabotage the weapons industry in Iran because it was believed he would be inside one of the targets of the alleged attack, according to an Aug. 29 report in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.The newspaper quoted a source as saying that the agent was recalled "because the U.S. was thought to be making a decision within weeks to attack Iran with unmanned aircraft."

Labels: EU, Iran, Netherlands

Israel - Buildup to the Next War - by Noah Feldman

The prospect of an Israeli attack on Iran before the next president’s inauguration in January is not just the stuff of airport thrillers. Much of the Israeli military establishment and Israeli public currently believes that a nuclear Iran is an existential threat. This gives Israel a motive for action much stronger than that of the U.S., for whom an Iranian bomb would primarily be a blow to our interests in the gulf region. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert or whoever emerges as his successor in September might well be prepared to take risks that would not be worth it for the United States, especially given the vulnerability of our troops in Iraq.

Any Iranian movement against U.S. assets would give President Bush just about the only domestically viable political excuse for bombing Iran that is possible to imagine. Because that would put Iran at war with the United States, not just Israel, Iran might choose to hold back. That likelihood, coupled with President Bush’s visceral support for Israel, might be enough reason for the administration to tolerate an Israeli attack that did not too directly implicate the United States. Given the uncertainty surrounding a potential Obama administration, this autumn may be Israel’s last and best chance to go after Iran’s nuclear capability.In the brave new world of our immersion in Iraq, we have increasingly found ourselves waking up with strange bedfellows. Strangest of these, of course, is Iran itself, with whom we have been quietly consulting over Iraq’s affairs because neither country wants an all-out civil war in that country.

Labels: Iran, Israel, US

The War With Iran - by Douglas Herman

The war began as planned. The Israeli pilots took off well before dawn and streaked across Lebanon and northern Iraq, high above Kirkuk. Flying US-made F-15 and F-16s, the Israelis separated over the mountains of western Iran, the pilots gesturing a last minute show of confidence in their mission, maintaining radio silence. At 9:15 AM, Baghdad time, the first Iranian missile struck the Green Zone. For the next thirty minutes a torrent of missiles landed on GPS coordinates carefully selected by Shiite militiamen with cell phones positioned outside the Green Zone and other permanent US bases. Although US and Israeli bomber pilots had destroyed 90% of the Iranian missiles, enough Shahabs remained to fully destroy the Green Zone, the Baghdad airport, and a US Marine base. Thousands of unsuspecting US soldiers died in the early morning barrage. Not surprisingly, CNN and Fox withheld the great number of casualties from American viewers.

By 9:30 AM, gas stations on the US east coast began to raise their prices. Slowly at first and then altogether in a panic, the prices rose. $4 a gallon, and then $5 and then $6, the prices skyrocketed. Worried motorists, rushing from work, roared into the nearest gas station, radios blaring the latest reports of the pre-emptive attack on Iran. While fistfights broke out in gas stations everywhere, the third Middle Eastern war had begun.

Labels: Iran, US, War

Nuclear Negotiations with Iran May Continue Amid Caution - by Kamal Nazer

Iran is refusing to compromise, but it wants to keep on negotiating with the international community over the fate of the country’s nuclear program. Iranian officials continue to hope that they can revamp a deal, but some experts caution that Tehran may err in pushing too far. Iran responded on August 5 to an ultimatum delivered by the so-called 5+1 group -- comprising the five UN Security Council permanent members, along with Germany -- which demanded in July that Tehran immediately suspend uranium enrichment activity in exchange for an international guarantee that new economic sanctions would not be imposed.A major assumption the Iranians appear to be making is that US President George W. Bush is eager to strike a deal on the nuclear issue in order to bolster his diplomatic legacy. In addition, if Bush does not exhibit a desired level of flexibility, Iranian leaders believe his successor may be easier to deal with. A July 29 article in Tabnak, a publication closely associated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, suggested that Bush wanted to achieve a "lighting diplomatic success," not only to enhance his personal image, but also to improve his party’s chances of retaining the presidency in November. The article went on to hint that it would be a "mistake" to strike a deal with Bush, unless Iran could come away with a substantially better bargain that what is currently on the table.

Labels: Iran, Nuclear energy

The European Union has received a written reply from Iran regarding international proposals about its nuclear program. The precise contents of the letter have not been made public. The United States, Russia, China, Great Britain, France and Germany are planning to discuss the letter in a telephone conference tomorrow. Two weeks ago, the six countries offered Iran improved economic and political cooperation in exchange for a freeze of its nuclear activities. Iran was given 14 days in which to reply, something it has now done at the very last moment. An Iranian functionary has said that the letter to the EU does not discuss a freezing of Iran's nuclear program. This would suggest Iran does not agree with the request.

Note EU-Digest: Iran's response to an incentives package aimed at defusing a dispute over its nuclear program is unacceptable, U.S. officials said Tuesday, making the prospect of new sanctions against the country more likely. The Australian notes: "With only 174 days left in office, Bush may not need pressure from Cheney and co, or from the Israelis, to start bombing. He's got another motive. For centuries Roman centurions had no end of trouble with those pesky Persians. So perhaps Nero Claudius Caesar Germanicus W. Bush takes Persia personally."

Labels: China, EU, George Bush, Iran, Nuclear energy, Russia

'Iran to be equipped with Russian S-300 by 09'

Iran will receive the advanced Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft missile defense system by year-end, senior Israeli military officials say. An Israeli military official claimed the missile batteries would arrive in early September, as Iran's contract with Moscow asserts that the S-300s to be delivered by the end of 2008, Reuters reported. The S-300 is the most sophisticated version of the anti-aircraft system which is capable of tracking 100 targets at once and firing on planes 120 km away.

Iran has cited diplomacy as the only means acceptable in clarifying the nature of its nuclear activities but has warned that it would target Israel and 32 US bases in the region should the country come under attack.

Labels: Iran, Israel, US

Iran, Turkey seek stronger energy cooperation

Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki on Saturday held talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on ways to expand comprehensive cooperation especially in energy sector. “Fortunately, the train of bilateral relations is moving in a good condition. Joint agreements on energy and building an electricity power plant are underway and the memoranda of understanding on cooperation in South Pars gas filed are in the final process,” Mottaki stated. He expressed hope that the implementation of Article 44 of the Constitution which calls for the privatization of state-run economy will provide the ground for further cooperation between the two neighbors’ private sectors.

Labels: Iran, Turkey

Prospects of Iranian nuclear issue's resolution remain dim after Geneva talks

A solution to Iran's nuclear issue remains elusive after the high-level talks in Geneva on Saturday between six major powers and Iran achieved only "insufficient" progress. Significant progress is unlikely unless the key parties involved in the issue are ready to show more flexibility and make substantial compromise, analysts say. As the U.S. troops are bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, Washington is keen to see some progress in efforts to solve Iran's nuclear issue, especially before President George W. Bush leaves office in January. And a peaceful resolution of the crisis could be seen as a big achievement for Bush's presidency. White House spokesperson Dana Perino said before the talks that the U.S. official would not be in Geneva to negotiate, and more sanctions were still possible if Iran rejected the incentives. "We will be there to listen, (and) we are not there to negotiate," she said.

Labels: Iran, Nuclear energy

Iran Nuclear Talks End Without Agreement - by Glenn Kessler

High-level international talks on Iran's nuclear program ended inconclusively today in Geneva, with European envoy Javier Solana telling reporters that Iran needed to give a more definitive answer within two weeks.

The meeting was significant because for the first time a U.S. diplomat, Undersecretary of State William J. Burns, joined other envoys in meeting with the top Iranian nuclear negotiator. U.S. officials had said the shift in Bush administration policy was intended to help lead to a breakthrough in the impasse over the Iranian program, but if Iran failed to respond positively, it only would unify the international coalition dealing with Iran.

Labels: Iran, US

In a surprising development in the tense American-Iranian relationship, the US announced this week that it would send a high-level State Department official to attend talks with Iranian nuclear negotiators in Switzerland over the weekend. This unexpected policy turn comes after a tense, saber rattling summer during which the US, Israel, and Iran have traded threats, staged war games, and tested weapons. But observers suggest that the shift in the US's longstanding tactic of isolating Tehran may be motivated by a desire to ensure that other countries such as China and Russia do not make too many concessions to Iran during the negotiations.

Note EU-Digest:Washington finally has realized that one way of avoiding the further meltdown of the US economy that dialog with Iran is a far better tactic to calming down the jitters about the US economy in the financial world than taking confrontational actions.

Labels: Iran, US

Iran and Israel build up their bluffing game - by Gerard Baker

There has been a certain choreographed quality to events in the skies over the eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf in the last month. This week Iran fired a volley of medium-range missiles into the skies over the Gulf, demonstrating its capacity to hit targets in Israel. A month ago, Israeli warplanes carried out large and fearsome warplane exercises over the Mediterranean that looked like a practice run for a bombing raid on Iranian nuclear facilities. But appearances can be deceptive. In Iran's case at least part of the deception has already been exposed - to mildly comical effect. It turns out that the picture of the launch of four Iranian missiles that appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world yesterday was itself a fake.

The simple reality is that, for all its sabre-rattling, Israel cannot carry out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities on its own. An Israeli strike would require the active co-operation of the US. Israeli F15 and F16 warplanes would not only have to fly and be refuelled in Iraqi airspace - controlled by the Americans - but the whole operation would require logistical support from US bases on the ground in Iraq. Support helicopters would need to be based in Iraq and rescue teams needed to evacuate any downed Israeli pilots would have to operate inside Iraq. In short this would be in effect a joint US-Israeli mission. The catch is that Washington has no intention of joining in any attack any time soon.

Labels: Iran, Israel, US. Middle East

The US has warned Iran to stop missile testing if it wants to gain the trust of the world, after "war games" in the Gulf today that Iranian officials said were a response to US and Israeli threats. Iran demonstrated its military force when it test-fired nine long and medium range missiles in the strategic Strait of Hormouz, through which 40% of the world's oil passes.Television reports said the missiles fired included a new version of the Shahab-3 missile, which officials have said has a range of 1,250 miles and is equipped with a conventional warhead weighing a tonne. Such a missile could reach Israel, Turkey, Afghanistan or Pakistan. Israel's military has also flexed its muscles in recent months as tensions with Iran have risen, sending warplanes over the eastern Mediterranean in June. US officials described that incident as a possible rehearsal for a strike on Iran's nuclear program, which the west fears is aimed at producing atomic weapons. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev today said Israel "does not desire hostility and conflict with Iran". "But it is clear that the Iranian nuclear program and the Iranian ballistic missile programme is a matter of grave concern," he said.

Note EU-Digest: these tests by Iran are mainly in reaction to the provocative Israeli warplane exercise around and over the Mediterranean. Military experts agree that if Israel audacity to attack Iran the defeat they suffered in Lebanon will be nothing in comparison to the damage that Iran would do to Israel, not only with their rockets, but also with their"proxy" militia surrounding Israel.

Labels: Iran, Israel, Oil, US

Iran buys American despite tough talk from both nations

U.S. exports to Iran including brassieres, bull semen, cosmetics and possibly even weapons grew more than tenfold during President George W. Bush's years in office even as he accused Iran of nuclear ambitions and helping terrorists. America sent more cigarettes to Iran, at least $158 million worth under Bush, than any other products.

Other surprising shipments to Iran during the Bush administration: fur clothing, sculptures, perfume and musical instruments. Top states shipping goods to Iran include California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin

Labels: Iran, Trade, US

The Coming Attack on Iran: A Perfect Storm of Madness- by Bernard Weiner

The question is not whether Iran will be attacked, but by whom and whether the bombing will commence within the next several months or shortly after the November election.The neocons argue that if Iran is not stopped now, America will lose all hopes of future influence and control in the oil-rich region. Iran would become one of the most powerful, and likely anti-U.S., players in the Greater Middle East, with all the military, economic and oil-based implications that such hegemonic power brings with it. In short, say the neocons, it's vital to stop Iran in its tracks now while the stopping is still possible. Once Iran has operational nuclear-tipped missiles -- which could be a mere ten years down the line, or less -- the entire equation would change.

Labels: EU, Iran, US

Bush Returns from Europe without Understanding the Old Continent's Position on Iran - by Ida Garibaldi

There was little more than the window dressing of a farewell tour in President Bush's trip to Europe earlier this month. Most significantly, he failed to come away with a clear idea of where Europe stands on Iran. It is a pity, but it is not surprising. At the end of his second mandate an American president progressively loses his political influence, becoming a semi irrelevant actor on the political scene of his country. This element coupled with the entrenched European indecision in facing the Iranian issue undermined the results of a trip that otherwise could have had a very positive effect on the transatlantic alliance.

Labels: Bush, EU, Iran

Labels: Iran, Israel

Iran has no plans to move money out of Europe

Iran is not planning to move assets from European banks, a banking official said on Tuesday, rejecting reports it is making major withdrawals to dodge impending EU sanctions. "No money from Iranian banks has been transferred out of European banks to Iran or other countries. And it will not be (moved)," the managing director of Bank Mellat, Ali Divandari, was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency. "There is no reason for the transfer of this money," said Divandari, whose bank is one of Iran's major state banks. The United States and European Union are seeking to ratchet up pressure on Tehran in the standoff over its contested nuclear programme by imposing a range of financial measures against the Islamic republic. Media reports have said Iran has been shifting tens of billions of dollars from the European banks to other institutions, fearing that further sanctions would affect its access to investments. Divandari however said that the transfer of such assets has not even been discussed.

Labels: Economy, EU, Iran

Iran withdraws $75 billion from Europe

Iran has withdrawn around $75 billion from Europe to prevent the assets from being blocked under threatened new sanctions over Tehran's disputed nuclear ambitions, an Iranian weekly said. Western powers are warning the Islamic Republic of more punitive measures if it rejects an incentives offer and presses on with sensitive nuclear work, but the world's fourth-largest oil exporter is showing no sign of backing down. "Part of Iran's assets in European banks have been converted to gold and shares and another part has been transferred to Asian banks," Mohsen Talaie, deputy foreign minister in charge of economic affairs, was quoted as saying.

Labels: Economy, EU, Iran

Warmongers, Chickenhawks, FOX News and Iran (VIDEO) - by Tim King

These are some of the people trying to drive the United States into a needless war with Iran when the country already doesn't adequately care for the number of veterans at hand. Limbaugh, Murdoch, Lieberman, Bolton, O'Reilly, McCain, Bush, Hannity, are among politicians and media personalities willing to send our military into another war.The single biggest problem and threat to the future of the United States and Iran, is Fox News. They are a common enemy to all that is honest; blatant liars that all play the game or they don't work at Fox. Again, almost all of those who root for attacking Iran, spare John McCain, are chickenhawks with no military experience or background. They are the ones who call for war but would never have the courage to fight in one. Each is an individual who could have made that an aspect of their life, and that lack of experience of being in combat personally allows them to be who they are today, warmongers and chickenhawks.

Labels: Iran, Murdock

Official Explanation Of Deadly Mosque Explosion Questioned

Two days after a deadly explosion at a mosque in one of Iran's largest cities, controversy has erupted over the cause of the blast. Eyewitnesses and some local officials say it appeared to be a bomb blast, while Iranian officials in Tehran say the explosion was accidentally caused by leftover ammunition from an exhibition recently held in the mosque.The latest official figures say 12 people died and some 200 were injured in the explosion at the Hosseynieh Seyed al-Shohada Mosque in the southern city of Shiraz on April 12. The explosion happened as the main cleric, Hojatoleslam Mohammad Enjavinejad, was leading his regular service for some 800 people.

Labels: Iran, Terrorism

Start another war? With what? - by Dan K. Thomasson

Now and then predictions of a pending U.S. invasion of Iran still raise their ugly head on the Internet no matter how illogical or unsustainable. That secret plan scenario is most assuredly going to follow President Bush and his fellow plotters right out the door of the White House nine months from now. The simple question to those propounding that and other allegations of planned U.S. aggression outside of Iraq and Afghanistan is: "Invade with what?" The brutal truth is that both the Army and the Marine Corps have been so strained by the current campaigns they would have trouble engaging the security forces of Monaco.

Labels: Iran, US

For the complete report from crossrhythms.co.uk click on this link

Israel Prepares For Showdown With Iran - by David Dolan

With Iranian leaders bombastically stating once again during February that Israel will soon be destroyed, Israel's top military leader warned mid-month that a decisive armed conflict could break out in the troubled region at any time. He added that it would be a major test over the resolve and preparedness of the country's regular and reserve armed forces.Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi became Israel's Armed Forces Chief of Staff less than one year ago when his predecessor, Dan Halutz, was forced to resign in the wake of the controversial 2006 military stalemate with Hizbullah forces.

"There are dangers to our survival on the horizon and great challenges to Israeli security. The Israeli Defense Forces need to insure a rapid victory in any conflict, and I cannot guarantee that we won't need to act in the near future."

Some Israeli military analysts averred that the Armed Forces Chief was cryptically referring to an Israeli air force strike upon Iran's burgeoning nuclear program, which they assume would not only be followed by Tehran's threatened missile counterstrikes upon Israeli civilian and military targets (including the Dimona nuclear reactor), but by missile, rocket and probably ground assaults from Syrian, Hizbullah and Hamas forces.

Labels: Iran, Israel, US, War

Ahmadinejad welcomed heartily in Iraq - US humiliated - by Mark Mackinnon

It's a damning indication of how poorly things have gone for the United States during its five-year misadventure in Iraq that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad can drive in broad daylight though this war-ravaged city and spend the night at the presidential palace, but George W. Bush can't. Mr. Ahmadinejad was greeted with lavish ceremony yesterday as he became the first Iranian President to visit Baghdad, a trip some said reflected Iran's great and growing power in Iraq and how severely the U.S. effort to remake Iraq into a Western-friendly democracy has gone awry.Apparently ignoring repeated U.S. charges that Iran is destabilizing his country, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani smiled broadly as he greeted Mr. Ahmadinejad outside his palace. Hailing a new era in ties between their states, the two men clasped hands and exchanged traditional kisses on the cheeks before walking together down a red carpet to review an honour guard as a military band played the two national anthems.

Unlike Mr. Bush's cloak-and-dagger visits here - fly-in trips to heavily guarded U.S. military bases that only last a few hours, often with no advance notice given to even the Iraqi government - Mr. Ahmadinejad's schedule was announced days earlier. He spent last night at Mr. Talabani's palace, across the Tigris River from the fortified Green Zone that houses the massive new U.S. embassy.

Labels: Ahmadinejad, Iran, Iraq, US