Week in Review

DoctorZin provides a review of this past week's [12/11-12/17] major news events regarding Iran. (The reports are listed in chronological order, not by importance)

Ahmadinejad.

• Mark Steyn, Chicago Sunreviewed the international response to Ahamdinejad's recent statements on Israel.
• Servihoo.com reported that Iran's parliament approved President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's fourth nominee for oil minister, the ministry's current caretaker Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh, ending a three-month-old dispute over the key post.
• Reuters reported that the Iranian regime is "shocked" by the international reaction to Ahmadinejad's remarks on Israel.
• Safa Haeri, Iran Press Service published a report: Who is Ahmadinejad and what is he up to?
• Aljazeera reported that Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stood by his latest attack on Israel and asserted the world was "on the verge of change."
• EUbusiness reported that Germany will ask EU leaders to sign up to a joint declaration condemning the latest anti-Israeli statement from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
• RIA Novosti reported that Ahmadinejad's recent statement on Israel is unacceptable to Russia.
• Iran Focus reported that Rafsanjani defended Iran President’s anti-Israel stance.
• Ha'aretz explains why Ahmadinejad can continue to smile while the world argues.
• Spiegel Online reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for Israel to be moved to Alaska.
• The New York Times reported that Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that the Holocaust was a myth.
• CNN.com reported on Germany's warning over Ahmadinejad's most recent remarks.
• ABC News reported that the United States and European Union has expressed outrage and shock after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad described the Holocaust as a "myth".
• The Daily Telegraph reported that Sharon's spokesman Raanan Gissin said "Thank God, Israel has the means at its disposal to bring about the downfall of this extremist regime in Iran. There will be no second 'final solution'."
• ABC News reported that European Union leaders will address the Iranian president's denial of the Holocaust as a "myth," at a EU summit beginning Thursday in Brussels.
  
• Paul Hughes, Reuters considered the question: Is there method behind Iran's anti-Israel remarks?
• Pepe Escobar, Asia Times reported that Vienna will feel like Alaska next Wednesday when Iran resumes negotiations on its turbulent nuclear dossier with the EU-3. It's all got to do with Israel.
• Louis Charbonneau, Reuters reported that German officials are weighing up imposing some form of travel restriction on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
• The Associated Press reported that Arab governments appeared reluctant to condemn Iran's president for calling the Holocaust a "myth."
• Reuters reported that a senior Vatican cardinal sharply criticised Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for claiming the Holocaust was a myth.
• UPI reported that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad`s recent anti-Semitic remarks may have dealt a fatal blow to the already fragile negotiation process due to restart next week over Iran`s nuclear program.
• The Guardian reported that European leaders warned that patience with Iran is running thin.
• Iran Focus reported that one of the bodyguards of Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was killed and another wounded when an attempt to ambush the presidential motorcade was thwarted in the southeastern province of Sistan and Balucestan. Plus Michael Ledeen's thoughts.
• Alan Peters discussed the recent assassination attempt on Ahmadinejad's life and possible connections to the C-130 crash in Tehran last week. Photos.
• Monsters & Critics reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered the conditional suspension of the additional protocol of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
• Iran Focus reported that Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad signed into law a bill that lays the foundations for a new military organisation to develop ballistic missiles.
• Radio Free Europe reported that European Union leaders have formally condemned Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's remarks on Israel.
  

Ahmadinejad's Worldview.

• Iran Press News reported that the Islamic regime's radio praised Ahmadinejads anti-Semitic comments calling them “accordant with Islamic rule”.
• Hossein Bastani, Rooz Online reported that Ahmadinejad is claiming to be in touch with the 12th Imam.
• Rooz Online reported that Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi launched special classes for his disciples to prepare them to run for the upcoming elections to the State Experts Council for Leadership that reviews the work of the Leader and confirms his position or elects a new one.
• Shervin Omidvar, Rooz Online reported that Mesbah Yazdi said: Universities must become Islamic.
• Maryam Kashani, Rooz Online published several strange accounts of Ahmadinejad's recent trip to Saudi Arabia.
• DEBKAfile reported that a sort of collective delusional hysteria is sweeping the Iranian populace. War preparations?
  

Power Struggle inside of Iran.

• BBC News reported that a group of Iranian MPs launched an attempt to sack the country's defence minister over the crash of a military plane in Tehran on Tuesday.
• Hamed Irani, Rooz Online warned that Ahmadinejad’s new diplomats are incompetent and lack basic language skills.
  

Iran's Nuclear Program.

• The Sunday Times reported that Israel's armed forces have been ordered by Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, to be ready by the end of March for possible strikes on secret uranium enrichment sites in Iran.
• The Jerusalem Post reported that a senior US State Department official said reporting Iran to the UN Security Council for defiantly pressing ahead with its suspect nuclear program is just a matter of time.
• The Associated Press reported that Mohamed ElBaradei said the United States will need to give Iran a security guarantee before a final agreement can be reached.
• The Associated Press reported that the Bush administration is ruling out a guarantee not to attack Iran to induce it to halt development of nuclear weapons.
• Reuters reported that President Bush called Iran a "real threat."
• Hemscott reported that Condi Rice said Iran is a problem that must be dealt with. Plus full text of her speech to the Heritage Foundation. A must read.
• The Heritage Foundation published a backgrounder report: Countering Iran's Nuclear Challenge.
• Agencia Internacional de Noticias reported that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declined to rule out the possibility that Israel might launch a preemptive air strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.
• Dow Jones Newswires reported that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday there is no evidence that Iran intends to back down in a diplomatic standoff over its disputed nuclear program.
• Reuters reported that U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday called Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an "odd guy."
• Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post warns us that Iran is arming for Armageddon. A must read.
• Reuters reported that the United States and Europe have stepped up planning for tougher diplomatic action should Tehran follow through on threats to resume critical nuclear activities.
• The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran meets Wednesday with America's three main European allies for a showdown over the Iranians' nuclear program.
  

Israel's Military Option.

• Ze'ev Schiff, Ha'aretz examined the question: Is There a Military Option?
• IranMania reported that most Israelis want their government to use diplomacy rather than military power.
  

Iranian Dissidents.

• Iran Press Newsreported that political prisoner Mehrdad Lohrasbi suffers grave illness in the horrific Rejaiishahr prison.
• Shervin Omidvar, RooZ Online reported that Abdol-Fattah Soltani the lawyer defending a group of student activists will remain behind bars.
  

Human Rights/Freedom of the press inside of Iran.

• Iran Press News reported that the Islamic regime publicly executes a man on International Human Rights Day.
• Dow Jones Newswires reported that European Union foreign ministers called on Iran Monday to show greater respect for human rights.
• Amnesty International reported it is outraged that once again Iran has carried out the execution of a juvenile offender.
• The Telegraph reported that Ahmadinejad has packed his government with former security and intelligence officials responsible for serious human rights abuses.
• Human Rights Watch: Iran’s new Minister of Interior is implicated in grave human rights violations over the past two decades, possibly including crimes against humanity.
• Phyllis Chesler, FrontPageMagazine published a speech given before the US Senate this past week: Islamic Gender Apartheid.
• Iran Focus reported that the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution censuring widespread human rights violations in Iran.
  

Iran's troublemaking.

• Iran Focus reported that Iran is setting the grounds to influence Thursday’s parliamentary elections in Iraq by sending its agents across the border in large numbers.
• The Telegraph reported that an Iraqi insurgent group has kidnapped four Iranians.
• The Sun Herald reported that the Iranian-backed militia the Badr Organization has taken over many of the Iraqi Interior Ministry's intelligence activities.
• Drudge Report reported that Iraqi border police seized tanker truck that had just crossed from Iran filled with thousands of forged ballots.
• The Washington Times reported that an Iraqi general formerly in charge of special Interior Ministry forces said that a senior Iranian intelligence officer was in charge of a network of detention centers in Iraq where suspected insurgents were routinely tortured and sometimes killed. A must read.
• Iran Focus reported that Iranian agents in Iraq carried out a widespread campaign of poll manipulation to ensure victory by Shiite groups allied to Tehran.
  

Iran's Military.

• Newsweek International reported on the new military capabilities Iran will gain from its billion dollar purchase of Russian weapon systems.
• Israelinsider.com reported that Iran commissioned its second domestically built submarine, a craft that can fire missiles and torpedoes simultaneously.
• Daily Times Pk reported that Iran has successfully tested surface-to-sea missiles with a range of 110 kilometres.
• Deutsche Presse-Agentur:German intelligence believes Iran has now bought 18 longer-range missiles from North Korea, giving Teheran the capability to attack targets in central Europe.
  

Iran and the International community.

• Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported that Hamas chief met with Iranian leaders.
• Nina Shea, National Review Online reported why Ahmadinejad is making the Saudis nervous.
• The Financial Times reported that a court in Italy has ordered the freezing of an Iranian government account in what lawyers say represents an unprecedented legal victory for three US families seeking compensation from Iran.
• TurkishPress reported that Football's world governing body FIFA has no intention of banning Iran from the 2006 World Cup finals despite Germany politicians call for a ban on Iran.
• Agence France-Presse reported that Hamas will step up attacks against Israel if the Jewish state takes military action against Iran.
• The Jerusalem Post reported that the Swedish parliament ceased all bilateral contacts with the Iranian parliament.
• Freedom for Eqyptians reported that an Iranian extremist group is producing a film on late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat assassination in 1981, entitled “34 Bullets for the Pharoah”.
• Reuters reported that the leaders of six pro-U.S. Gulf Arab states meet on Sunday to discuss Iran's nuclear ambitions.
  

Can You Believe This?

• FOX News reported that Iran offered the United States a share in building a new nuclear power plant.
• Islamic Republic News Agency reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki voiced Iran's concern over the increasing human rights violations of the US.
  

Inside Iran.

• Asher, Dreams into Lightning introduced us to a new Iranian blogger: Ghazal Omid.
• The Economist asked: How should a theocratic state raise awareness of a lethal virus that is commonly spread through sexual promiscuity?
• The Telegraph reported that young Iranians are seeking out the ski slopes of Iran for a taste of freedom they fear they will soon lose under Ahmadinejad.
• Alan Peters reported that while modern Iranian women have been pushing the limits, his sources inside of Iran are saying that President Ahmadi-Nejad's has decree that in future all women had to wear a black tent-like garment called a "chador." A photo analysis of present Iranian dress and where Ahmadinejad wants it to go.
  

Inside Iran, the Air Crash in Tehran.

• BBC News reported that a group of Iranian MPs launched an attempt to sack the country's defence minister over the crash of a military plane in Tehran on Tuesday.
• Yahoo News reported that Iran's outspoken President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pledged a "serious investigation" into the crash of a military plane in central Tehran.
• Morteza Mohseni, Rooz Online reported that the minister of intelligence is curbing reporting on the air crash.
• Omid Memarian, Rooz Online reported that air crash victims families are complaining about the government response.
• Kiarash Kianmehr, Rooz Online reported that some of the passengers on board the C-130 military transport aircraft that crashed last week died of asphyxiation due to the lack of emergency oxygen on board.
  

US Policy on Iran.

• Arutz Sheva reported that John Loftus, an intelligence expert with contacts in the Pentagon said "One of the intelligence agencies, which shall remain nameless, asked me to hold a conference of dissident groups in Iran. We are holding that conference and getting ready for regime-change."
• Reuters reported that President Bush called Iran a "real threat."
• Hemscott reported that Condi Rice said Iran is a problem that must be dealt with. Plus full text of her speech to the Heritage Foundation. A must read.
• Reuters reported that an influential Republican congresswoman expressed frustration on Friday over President George W. Bush's approach to Iran.
  

Must Read reports.

• Saul Singer, The National Review warned the Europeans that by failing to deal with Iran, and wrapping themselves most tightly in international law are actually those responsible for turning that law into a dead letter.
• The Washington Times reported that an Iraqi general formerly in charge of special Interior Ministry forces said that a senior Iranian intelligence officer was in charge of a network of detention centers in Iraq where suspected insurgents were routinely tortured and sometimes killed. A must read.
• Iranian.ws argued that the forces inside and outside Iran that they think they can change the political structure of Iran are wasting their time and deceiving the people of Iran.
• Claudia Rosett, The Wall Street Journal reported on the murder of a brave and respected Lebanese journalist, just days after a Hebollah rally calling for his death.
• The Washington Times discussed Iran's undeclared war.
• The Heritage Foundation published a backgrounder report: Countering Iran's Nuclear Challenge.
• Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post warns us that Iran is arming for Armageddon. A must read.
• The New York Sun reported that Israel's top general during Operation Iraqi Freedom said: Saddam Hussein moved his chemical weapons to Syria six weeks before the war started.
  

The Experts.

• Dean George, The IndyStar reviewed Ken Timmerman's book: "Countdown to Crisis: The Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran."
• Frederick Kempe, The Wall Street Journal produced an excellent interview with Bernard Lewis. A must read.
• Amir Taheri, New York Post reported that as Iraqis prepare to go to the polls, the media have focused on the insurgent and terrorist threats, the real dangers that Iraq faces may be elsewhere.
• Michael Ledeem, The National Review reminded us: The enemy is among Us.
  

Photos, cartoons and videos.

• Cox & Forkum published another cartoon about the Weblog Awards and they endorsed this blog for best Middle East blog.
• Cox & Forkum published another cartoon, a Jay Leno comedy video interview with an Iranian astronaut and photos of the latest demonstration in Tehran.
• AsianNews.ir published a photo of Tehran smog.
• A photo that answers the question: Where do the Iranian people get their news?
• A Cartoon about Ahmadinejad: Mullah's Wild Dog.
  

And finally, The Quote of the Week.

Michael Scott Moore, Spiegel Online reported that while speaking before thousands in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan, Ahmadinejad said, referring to Europeans:

"Today, they have created a myth in the name of the Holocaust and consider it to be above God, religion and the prophets."

"This is our proposal: give a part of your own land in Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska to (the Jews) so that the Jews can establish their country."