This Week in Review

DoctorZin provides a review of this past week's [2/20-2/26] major news events regarding Iran.

The EU3 Negotiations with Iran:

• Iran wants to follow the Japan/Germany model, which means they would be permitted to develop nuclear fuel cycle capabilities three months short of a bomb.
• Iranians are having problems in their negotiations with the EU3. They want the EU to guarantee their security.
• The Iranians do not want the US to participate in the negotiations. Then they do.
• The US wants an agreement with the EU3 on the definition of failure if the EU3/Iran talks do not succeed.
• The US has given the EU3 and Iran until June to complete its negotiations. I expect the US to aggressively push for regime change in Iran in June, if not before. Thus this is well timed and to be expected.
• The European Parliament is censuring Iran for its human rights violations and recommending the UN act. They even quote President Bush's call for liberty. They also call for declassifying the MEK from their terrorist lists. [The NY Time's exposes the MEK attempts to legitimize itself to the US Congress.]
• The French want the US to offer the Iranians trade incentives. They also want to sell the Iranians more technology. Is it all about selling the AirBus?
• The Russians head off to Iran to sign its nuclear fuel deal. But suddenly the signing has been postponed.
• Iran says it does not fear being brought before the UN Security Council.

Bush's road trip:

• Bush says talk of an attack on Iran, “is ridiculous."
• Bush agrees to take a look again at the European stand on Iran.
• Statements on Iran: Belgium, Germany, and Russia.
  

Tuesday's earthquake in Iran:

An earthquake in Iran Tuesday and killed in excess of 500 people. Iranians are angry at their government’s poor response to the tragedy. Pejamesque takes a look at the political consequences of the earthquake. The US offers help with Iran's latest earthquake. Iran says no thanks.

Popular struggle inside of Iran.

• Iranian youth used one of the holiest Shiite days in the calendar, to dance, whistle and clap rather than observing the somber mourning rituals.
• Iranian journalist and blogger sentenced to 14 years in prison.
• A Iranian blogger shares his experience in prison for blogging.
• Blog campaign launched to support jailed Iranian bloggers.
• An Iranian court sentences a young woman to 100 lashes.
• According to Iran Focus a recent secret report to the Iranian regime's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps pointed out that were a demonstration or rebellion to last more than six hours in Tehran, the security apparatus would no longer be able to control the situation.
  

Iran's Neighbors:

• More evidence of Iran's effort to infiltrate the new Iraqi government.
• Amir Taheri takes a look at the exciting events in Lebanon and gives Syria some advice. (Iranians are watching these events with interest).
  

Odd and Ends:

• A mole in the Iranian government has been exposed?
• Hillary goes wobbly on Iran.
• Dr. Jerome Corsi, of "Unfit for Command"fame has been threatened with a lawsuit from a Kerry fundraiser angry about Corsi's new book, Nuclear Iran.
  

Must Read Reports:

• Porter Goss gave his Global Intelligence Challenges report to Congress. Here is the section on Iran.
• The Washington Institute for Near East Policy has just issued a new report: U.S. Security, Global Stability, and Regional Peace.
• Taking on Tehran. Kevin Pollock shares his analysis for Foreign Affairs on how the US can derail Iran's nuclear program.
• Want to know what Bush thinks? Read Natan Sharansky's book, The Case for Democracy, or at least read this primer.
  

And finally, The Quote of the Week:

Walid Jumblatt, head of Lebanon's Druze Muslim community and hardly a friend of the U.S. said yesterday:

"It's strange for me to say it, but this process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq. I was cynical about Iraq. But when I saw the Iraqi people voting three weeks ago, 8 million of them, it was the start of a new Arab world." ... "The Syrian people, the Egyptian people, all say that something is changing. The Berlin Wall has fallen. We can see it."