Saturday's Daily Briefing on Iran

DoctorZin reports, 9.3.2005:

Michael Barone Recommends Our Blog

Michael Barone,senior writer for U.S.News & World Report:

You have probably been reading in the press stories that even the EU3–Britain, France, and Germany–which have been negotiating with Iran over nuclear installations are dissatisfied with the response of Iran's mullah regime and are considering referring the matter to the United Nations Security Council, as the United States has urged in the event these negotiations fail. But UNSC action is uncertain, and even an embargo may not persuade the mullahs to stop the nuclear program.

What else can we do? Well, we could try to encourage the advocates of peaceful change inside Iran in the way that we encouraged, verbally and by concrete actions, Solidarity in Poland (which is just celebrating its 25th anniversary) and other anti-Communist activists in Eastern Europe in the 1980s. The mainstream media have been portraying Iran as a country increasingly under the iron control of the mullahs. But mainstream media have not been able to send many reporters into Iran. To get a better picture, you might want to consult weblogs that present news from Iranians. Here are two such weblogs. www.daneshjoo.org and www.regimechangeiran.com. I haven't been reading these closely, but I intend to, and my first read suggests that "iron control" is not a good description of what is going on in Iran today.

I hope to return to this issue in the days and weeks to come.

Welcome to our site, Michael.

Here are a few other news items you may have missed.

• Amir Taheri, NY Post reported that the recent tragic deaths of 1000 Iraqi's trampled under foot in a stampede or drowned in the Tigris River is having an unexpected result. Sunnis watching from the neighboring Azamiyah district of Baghdad jumped into the river to save the screaming Shiites from drowning. It appears to be drawing Shiite and Sunni's together.
• Dr. Jack Wheeler, To The Point News reported that the war between Persia and the West is very ancient, well over a thousand years older than the war between Islam and Christianity. It is a valuable brief history of Iran's war with the west and why a civil war in Iran is not in Iran's best interest.
• Times of India reported that Iran has resumed uranium enrichment which was suspended under a deal with the European Union.
• Daily Times confirmed earlier reports that small bombs damaged 15 pipelines and one oil well in restive southwest Iran on Thursday, but quick repairs meant crude output from OPEC’s second exporter was unaffected.
• Iranmania reported that Iran's Supreme Leader hailed Palestinian militants for expelling the' Zionist regime from Gaza and called for the continuation and fortification of resistance and Jihad.
• The LA Times reported that the IAEA's report on Iran documents the nation's continuing unwillingness to fully explain its nuclear activities.
• Marzeporgohar.org suggested that if there is one thing that the Western countries need to realize, it is that they best not interfere with the Persian pride.
• Politics.co.uk reported that Britain's Jack Straw told journalists: Nobody is proposing military action in regard of Iran.
• The New York Times reported that despite an intense two-and-a-half year investigation by the IAEA, key elements of Iran's nuclear program remain shrouded in mystery.
• The Associated Press reported that Iran has produced about seven tons of a gaseous compound that can be used for uranium enrichment since it restarted that process last month.
• Iranian.ws reported that Larijani said here Friday: The issue of exporting Iran's Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) to India has been finalized.
• Hindustan Times also reported that ignoring objections from the US, India and Iran on Saturday decided to go ahead with the proposed $7.4 billion dollar pipeline project.
• Khaleej Times Online reported that Iran denounced as an ugly act the US decision to deny visas to an Iranian parliamentary delegation to attend the annual UN General Assembly session in New York.
• And finally, Safa Haeri, Asia Times Online reported that Pakistan and Israel dealt Iran an historic blow. The foreign ministers of Israel and Pakistan met in Istanbul in what Prime Minister Ariel Sharon described as a setback for Iran. Others suggest this could be the beginning of a political current in the region that could result in all other Arab and Muslim nations recognizing the Jewish state.