Week in Review

DoctorZin provides a review of this past week's [9/18-9/24] major news events regarding Iran. (The reports are listed in chronological order, not by importance)

Ahmadinejad - Returns Home.

• UN.org published Ahmadinejad Saturday's UN Speech. The entire video of the speech can be viewed here.
• Barkeshli, Flickr a slideshow of Ahmadinejad's Gala Event in NYC.
• Rooz Online reported that Ahmadinejad, Iran's hardline president left New York last night for Tehran.
• David Gollust, Voice of America reported that the United States called Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's a United Nations speech very aggressive.
• BBC News reported that UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Ahmadinejad's speech was disappointing.
• Iran Press News reported on Ahmadinejad's comments upon arrival in Tehran.
• Kenneth R. Timmerman, FrontPageMagazine reported that the MEK rented demonstrators outside the UN.
  
• Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor reported that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared that nuclear power was an "inalienable right."
• Newsweek published an interview with Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
• Dafna Linzer, The Washington Post reported that Ahmadinejad's speech was able to do what weeks of high-level U.S. diplomacy had not: convince skeptical allies that Iran may, in fact, use its nuclear energy program to build atomic bombs. A must read.
• Iran Press News reported that Ahmadinejad said about the EU3: They think they own the world; hopefully an enormous shock will bring them to their senses and they'll realize that things aren't what they think.
• The Daily 'Cuz reports on the similarities between Ahmadinejad and Hitler.
• Rooz Online reported that at the UN, Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's new president called for the establishment of democracy, justice and love of human beings. He asks whether Mr. President's sense of justice includes defending women’s rights.
• The Daily Times reported that Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said his country will not follow Pakistan in making official contact with Israel.
• Iran Press News reported on Ahmadinejad's continued terrorist threats at Thursday's military parade.
• Reuters reported that Iran showed off its military might on Thursday and Ahmadinejad said: those who decide to misuse our nation's honour and dignity and want to test what has been tested in the past, should know that the flames of the nation's wrath are very hot and destructive.
• Iranmania reported that EU military attaches walked out in protest at a parade in Tehran Thursday after ballistic missiles were rolled past carrying vitriolic anti-US and Israeli slogans.
• Iranian blogger, Hossein Bastani, Rooz Online compared Khatami's and Ahmadijehad's trips abroad and the accidental events the went with them.
  

Iran's Nuclear Program.

• Reuters reported that the European Union's three main powers began drafting a resolution on Sunday urging the U.N. nuclear watchdog to report Iran to the Security Council.
• The NY Times reported North Korea has pledged to give up its nuclear weapons program. Now the world focuses on Iran.
• Adam Zagorin, Time Magazine warns that Iran is preparing to use oil as a weapon if the EU3 refer Iran to the UN Security Council.
• Kuwait News Agency reported that French Foreign Minister Philipppe Douste-Blazy said referring the Iranian nuclear file to the Security Council is still on the agenda.
• The Observer reported that Iran invited private firms to join its nuclear program, further escalating tensions with the West.
• Eli Lake, The NY Sun reported on the showdown in Vienna Monday, America, Britain, France, and Germany were lobbying for the votes necessary to take Iran to the U.N. Security Council.
• Adnkronos International reported on the inevitable consequences for Iran of North Korea's historic decision to abandon its nuclear activities and rejoin the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
• Forbes reported that the UN atomic agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed El Baradei called on Iran to finally allow access to sensitive sites and key people.
• Louis Charbonneau, Reuters reported that Europe and the United States called for the United Nations' atomic watchdog to bring Iran before the Security Council.
• Bloomberg reported that Iran today agreed to allow stepped- up inspections by United Nations atomic experts.
• Nasser Karimi, Chicago Sun Times reported that Iranian officials said that they have no plans to resume uranium enrichment soon but warned that they might change its mind.
• Ynetnews reported that a majority was secured for referring Iran's nuclear case to the U.N. Security Council.
• Indian Express reported that Iran warned the West on Tuesday it would start uranium enrichment and review its membership of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if sent to the UN Security Council.
• Richard Beeston, The Times UK reported that Britain, France and Germany signaled that they had had enough of Iran’s “failures and breaches” and urged the International Atomic Energy Agency to refer the country to the UN Security Council.
• Iran Press News reported that Secretary of the High Council of National Security of the regime, Ali Larijani, said: The Security Council is indeed a big stick that's being held over our heads but this is no threat to us and it does not mean that the regime is on it's deathbed.
• USMC_Vet, The Word Unheard argued that while it is being reported today that the EU is set to ask the IAEA to refer Iran to the UN Security Council, it should be noted by the careful observer that this is little more than a stage show worthy of Broadway.
• The Times UK reported that Iranian negotiators threatened to restart uranium enrichment and accused the West of trying to humiliate them.
• Islamic Republic News Agency reported that an Iranian nuclear official said that if Europeans wish to change the rule of the game, Tehran will reciprocate.
• IranMania reported that France, England and Germany (EU3) distributed their proposed draft resolution against Iran among delegates of 35-member IAEA Governing Council.
• Peter Brookes, RealClearPolitics reported on the burning mysteries that concern world leaders about Iran's nuclear program.
• News Max reported that a Russian diplomat said: Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is really pissed off with the Iranians.
• Reuters reported that top officials from the United States, European Union, Canada and Japan failed to persuade Russia that Iran's nuclear program should be reported to the U.N. Security Council.
• Reuters reported that Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said: Iran may be as little as six months away from completing the know-how to build a nuclear bomb.
• Reuters reported that the EU hardened its stance on Iran.
• The Guardian UK reported that while the U.S. pressed its case to have Iran hauled before the U.N. Security Council, Iran sent Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh to Vienna to try to build support for Tehran.
• BBC Monitoring reported that Iranian newspapers in Iran are in defiant mood in respect to its nuclear crisis.
• The Independent reported that Israel is warning that Iran could have the knowledge to produce a nuclear bomb within six months.
• Zaman reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned: Sending Iran to the United Nations Security Council might back fire.
• Louis Charbonneau, Reuters reported that the European Union's three main powers have dropped a demand that the U.N. nuclear watchdog report Iran to the Security Council.
• The Washington Times reported that any vote on referral of Iran to the UNSC would not come before November.
• EU leaders Philippe Douste-Blazy, Joschka Fischer, Javier Solana and Jack Straw, The Wall Street Journal wrote Iran's nuclear policy requires a collective response.
• Louis Charbonneau, Reuters quoted a EU diplomat who said: The question is, can we live with a Russian 'no' vote? That's what we have to decide.
• Iran Press News on Iranian newspaper suggested the"Trigger Mechanism" for withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
• The Jerusalem Post discussed two things that set the North Korean nuclear case apart from the Iranian one.
• Eli Lake, New York Sun warned Iran and North Korea are the very definition of rogue actors. Trusting them is akin to trusting crack dealers to respect drug-free school zones.
• Louis Charbonneau and Francois Murphy, Reuters reported that the EU powers demand UN report over Iran atomic plans.
• ABC News reported that the European Union has submitted a resolution to the U.N. nuclear watchdog requiring the agency's board to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council.
• Dow Jones Newswires reported that Iran's allies urged it to compromise Friday in an effort to blunt a U.S. backed European push to refer the country to the U.N. Security Council.
• Louis Charbonneau and Francois Murphy, Reuters reported the U.N. nuclear watchdog passed a resolution on Saturday requiring Iran to be reported to the Security Council.
• Mehr News [Regime's News Agency] claimed the International consensus against Iran failed.
• NewIndPress reported that Iran's parliament speaker warned they may suspend the additional protocol of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
  

Akbar Ganji - Back in Jail.

• Dow Jones Newswires reported that a U.N. rights expert asked Iran to release an imprisoned journalist Akbar Ganji.
• Reporters Without Borders noted that Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji has not been allowed any visits since his return to Evin prison, 25 days ago.
  

Who's who in Iran.

• Iranian blogger, Arash Motamed, Rooz Online reported that Commander Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, an extremist in Iranian politics and the former Commander of the Passdaran Revolutionary Guards Corps has been appointed deputy to Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. He has vowed to destroy those whom he considers to be “enemies” of Islamic culture.
• Iranian blogger, Soheyl Asefi, Rooz Online provided more information on the Hojatieh group.
  

The Power Struggle inside of Iran.

• Iran Press News reported on several multi-million Dollar embezzlement cases within Iran's Ministry of Guidance & Enlightenment.
• Adnkronos International reported that Faezeh Hashemi, the president of the Iranian women's sports federation, launched a scathing attack against the country's new president.
  

Iran's troublemaking.

• Richard Beeston, The Times UK reported the targeting of British military in Iraq by Iran.
• Aawsat.com reported that a teenager was forced against his will to bomb a Shi'a mosque in Iraq. The attack failed; he later admitted to being forced to carry out this mission after being kidnapped, badly beaten and drugged by terrorists.
• The Wall Street Journal reported that the recent surge of violence in Basra, Iraq's second-biggest city, has raised new doubts about the U.S.-led coalition's strategy for pacifying southern Iraq by giving free rein to Shiite religious militias with ties to neighboring Iran.
  

U.S. Policy.

• Fox News produced an interview with Secretary Rice. Watch it here.
• Agence France-Presse reported that US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned Iran overnight not to overplay its hand in southern Iraq.
• Voice of America reported that President Bush has cautiously welcomed North Korea's pledge to give up its nuclear weapons.
• Time Magazine in an interview with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said U.S. and European diplomatic efforts will soon bear fruit.
• JTA News reported that Sen. Rick Santorum introduced legislation in the Senate to restrict American businesses from obtaining nuclear-fuel assemblies from anyone that also sells them to Iran.
  

The Iranian Military.

• Claude Salhani, The Washington Times asked: Is Iran preparing for war with the United States?
• IsraCast reported that Iran will launch a Spy Satellite by the end of September.
• Iran Press News reported that the Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Rahim Safavi said: The enemy better comprehend that the regime is not solely a regional power but a world power.
  

Human Rights/Freedom of the press inside of Iran.

• Iran Focus reported that an Iranian man was hanged in Ahwaz and another in Tehran.
• Iranian blogger, Omid Memarian, Rooz Online reported that a member of the central committee of the Islamic Coalition Party once again called for combating civil society groups in Iran.
• Iranian blogger, Morteza Abdolalian, Iran Watch Canada reported that a reporter in Iran exposing about the violation by members of city council and the officials of the municipality in Karaj was forced to resign from his job.
• Iran Press News reported that the Iran's Minister of Information and Security confessed to torturing prisoners.
• Pink News reported that a 22 year old gay Iranian has escaped his home country after being subjected to 100 lashes.
• Iran Press News reported the disappearance of a 19-year-old activist in Mahabad (Greater Kurdistan Province).
• Iran Press News reported that Iran recently arrested 12500 people for the socially corruptive and disorderly use of 3000 satellite dishes.
• Iran Press News reported that Mullah Ahmad Alam-Alhadi said: women must be cast down for improper veiling and those whose one strand of hair even is seen by an unfamiliar male are a tool of the enemy.
• SMCCDI reported that the Islamic regime admits to arresting over 12,000 people in Tehran this month.
• SMCCDI reported that the beginning of the Iranian New Academic Year, starting Saturday, was marked by spread protest actions.
  

Protests inside of Iran.

• Iran Press News reported on further uprisings in the southern city of Ahvaz (Province of Khuzestan).
  
• Iran Focus reported clashes erupted at night in the strategic oil-rich city of Ahwaz, southern Iran, between people and State Security Forces (SSF).
  

The Pro-Democracy Forces Outside of Iran.

• The Associated Press reported that a French-based media watchdog has released a free guide with tips for bloggers and dissidents to sneak past Internet censors in countries from China to Iran. See guide here.
  
• Shaheen Fatemi, Iran va Jahan called upon the Iranian democratic opposition living in the free world to set aside their possible ideological differences and push the international community to support the Iranian people’s campaign for democracy and human rights as a means of solving the nuclear program issue.

Iran and the International community.

• Chanan Tigay, JTA News reported that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned the world: Wake up, the world is facing a serious threat in Iran.
• Iran Press News reported on Rafsanjani's trip to Saudi Arabia and the regime mounting fear regarding a showdown with the West.
• Robert Gibbons, Reuters reported that Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said: U.S. policy in Iraq is widening sectarian divisions to the point of effectively handing the country to Iran.
• Iranian.ws reported that a South African Foreign Ministry spokeswoman dismissed claims of South Africa's participation in Iran's nuclear program.
• Iran Press News discussed Kuwait's Daily, Al Seyassah which said: The regime in Tehran has refused to heed the warnings... that will result in punitive actions leading up to their being surrounded and finally going to war.
• Ilan Berman, The Washington Times reported that Iran has been a chief beneficiary of tensions between the U.S. and Turkey.
• Yahoo News reported that Canadian Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew said he told Iran again that Canada expected justice to be rendered in the murder of Canadian-Iranian photographer Zahra Kazemi.
• ABC News reported that Israel and Iran clashed at the United Nations General Assembly, accusing each other of threatening Middle East and world peace.
• The Times UK argues that Iran is fast emerging as the only clear beneficiary of the Iraq war.
• LA Times reported that Iran succeeded Wednesday in getting Interpol to cancel international wanted notices for 12 Iranians sought by Argentina in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center.
• Iran Mania reported that Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal's statement implicating Iran in Iraq unrest was surprising and illogical.
• The Arab Network for Human Rights Info reported the Iranian government banned next weeks UN sponsored Regional Civil Society Forum on the Information Society for the Middle East and West Asia.
• Khaleej Times Online reported that Federal investigators in Germany have unearthed new evidence linking Iran to the 1985 bombing of a US military base that injured 35 persons.
  

Insight into the Iranian people.

• The Washington Post reported that Iran has the highest proportion of opiate addicts in the world and some claim the government is encouraging drug use.
  

Can You Believe This?

• Iranian blogger, Mehrdad Sheibani, Rooz Online reported that the new head of the Islamic Republic News Agency apparently thinks the Soviet Union still exists.
• The Washington Post argues that Yahoo Inc. has been assisting despots to shutdown dissident reports from inside of totalitarian regimes.
• Islamic Republic News Agency reported that Britain's Liberal Democrats suggested the European Union should offer Iran a new set of proposals to break the deadlock in negotiations over the country's nuclear program.
• The Guardian UK reported Iran's Islamic rulers are to reconstruct a spectacular tent city that hosted kings, sheikhs and sultans in a 1971 extravaganza. This is a departure for the regime which has denigrated its Persian history in favor of its Islamic identity.
• Iran Press News reported that Mullah Emami-Kashani said: we highly recommend that these Americans come to their senses soon and not embarrass themselves anymore in front of the world. He added: Western youth are depraved and sinister.
  

Must Read reports.

• Stefania Lapenna, Tech Central Station reported that after the London bombings, most of Europe has begun to wake up to the nature of the enemy.
• Telegraph UK reported a serious rift has opened between Tony Blair and Jack Straw over whether to retain the threat of military action against Iran.
• Iranian blogger, Arash Motamed, Rooz Online reports that Ahmadinejad and Larijani are taking the country towards war.
• Pepe Escobar, Asia Times Online argued why Iran can't become the new China.
  

The Experts.

• Amir Taheri, Weekly Standard examined the world's failure to contain Iran's nuclear ambitions.
• Michael Ledeen, The National Review provided a review of under-reported news on Iran and explains why the regime is being so aggressive lately.
• Amir Taheri, Arab News thinks Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s new administration is walking into a trap partly of its own making.
  

Photos, Cartoons, Audio and Video of the week.

• Rooz Online published another cartoon: Target Iran.
• Cox & Forkum published another of their cartoons: UNrehearsed.
• Photo of the leaders of the world: Ahamidnejad Stands Out in a Crowd.
• Iranian Student News Agency published photos of an Alcohol Smuggling Gang Bust in Tehran.
• A Photo from Fars News: Regime Parades Its Military Units.
  

And finally, The Quote of the Week.

Reuters reported that Iran showed off its military might on Thursday and Ahmadinejad said:

"Those who decide to misuse our nation's honour and dignity and want to test what has been tested in the past, should know that the flames of the nation's wrath are very hot and destructive."

Saturday's Daily Briefing on Iran

DoctorZin reports, 9.24.2005:

UN nuclear body passes EU resolution on Iran

Louis Charbonneau and Francois Murphy, Reuters:

The U.N. nuclear watchdog passed a resolution on Saturday requiring Iran to be reported to the Security Council over a failure to convince the agency its nuclear program was entirely peaceful.

"The resolution was adopted," an IAEA spokeswoman told reporters.

The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) governing board approved it despite Iranian threats to begin enriching uranium if the U.S.-backed resolution, drafted by the EU's three biggest powers, that could eventually lead to U.N. Security Council sanctions against Tehran was passed.

With 22 votes for the resolution, 12 abstentions and only one vote against, the outcome highlighted the split between rich Western nations and poorer developing nations led by Russia, China, South Africa, which disagree with Washington and Europe on how to deal with Iran.

In what EU diplomats said was a victory for Western efforts to ratchet up the pressure on Tehran, both China and Russia, which had strongly opposed the EU's proposed resolution, abstained. Venezuela was the only country to vote against it. READ MORE

Now the ball is back in Iran's court. Will it follow through with its threats to retaliate on those nations that voted for the resolution?

• Mehr News [Regime's News Agency] claimed the International consensus against Iran failed.

The vote provides us a clue as to how the UNSC will vote on the Issue. It is also encouraging that India voted for the resolution.

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

• SMCCDI reported that the beginning of the Iranian New Academic Year, starting Saturday, was marked by spread protest actions.
• SMCCDI reported that several homes of the Marvook Village, located in the southern province of Lorestan, have burned following the mysterious rupture of a pipeline.
• Iranian blogger, Hossein Bastani, Rooz Online compared Khatami's and Ahmadijehad's trips abroad and the accidental events the went with them.
• Iranian blogger, Soheyl Asefi, Rooz Online provided more information on the Hojatieh group.
• NewIndPress reported that Iran's parliament speaker warned they may suspend the additional protocol of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
• Iran Mania reported that Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal's statement implicating Iran in Iraq unrest was surprising and illogical.
• The Arab Network for Human Rights Info reported the Iranian government banned next weeks UN sponsored Regional Civil Society Forum on the Information Society for the Middle East and West Asia.
• Shaheen Fatemi, Iran va Jahan called upon the Iranian democratic opposition living in the free world to set aside their possible ideological differences and push the international community to support the Iranian people’s campaign for democracy and human rights as a means of solving the nuclear program issue.
• Khaleej Times Online reported that Federal investigators in Germany have unearthed new evidence linking Iran to the 1985 bombing of a US military base that injured 35 persons.
• And finally, Amir Taheri, Arab News thinks Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s new administration is walking into a trap partly of its own making.

New Academic Year Marked by Spread Protest Actions

SMCCDI (Information Service):

The beginning of the Iranian New Academic Year, starting today, was marked by spread protest actions.

Partial actions took place related to Iranian universities and schools, such as, the strike of students of Esfahan Pharmacology School, Hamdean Medical School and Tehran's Polytechnic Institute; Protest gatherings of some teachers of Mashad, Esfahan and Shiraz; or the refusal of many students to chant the Islamic regime's official anthem.

In some schools the students chanted the banned "Oh Iran!" anthem.

These actions took place despite the deployment of hundreds of agents of special security units in the Academic institutions and threats made against some teachers and students.

Village burns following rupture of pipeline

SMCCDI (Information Service):

Several homes of the Marvook Village, located in the southern province of Lorestan, have burned following the mysterious rupture of a pipeline.

The incident took place in the early hours of today.

The pipeline was carrying gasoline from the southern refineries toward the north of the country.

Acts of sabotage and arson are in constant raise across Iran and especially in the Capital where the increase is more than 50% compare to last year.

Trips Abroad & Accidental Events

Iranian blogger, Hossein Bastani, Rooz Online:

Last week witnessed the first trip of Iran’s newly elected president to New York to attend the UN General Assembly annual meeting. During his absence, the Iranian Judiciary and other government agencies under the control of his colleagues did their utmost not to engage in any internally provocative acts. As a result, nothing newsworthy happened in Iran, so the president Ahmadinejad’s international prestige would not be hurt.

This approach is understandable and I would like to use it to demonstrate the kind of atmosphere that existed for the last president, Mohammad Khatami, when he would go on foreign trips. Specifically I will note the domestic atmosphere and events during his trips to New York, Italy, France, Germany, second trip to New York, Japan, Russia, third trip to New York, and Spain. READ MORE

First trip. President Khatami went to New York the first time during the third week of September of 1998 to take part at the UN’s annual General Assembly meeting. Just two days before the trip, Tous newspaper was shut down and an arrest warrant was issued for five of its reporters. The detainees were later released without proof of their charges.

Second trip. About six months later, in August of 1998 Khatami flew to Italy. But just a week before that, reformist cleric and anti-violence advocate Mohsen Kadivar, was arrested unexpectedly. He was subsequently tried and sentenced to 18 months of prison.

Third trip. In Marchof 1999, the president began his trip to France. The Iranian judiciary has selected this very day to begin the trials of Abdollah Nouri, a thinker and former minister of the interior who was also the publisher of Khordad newspaper which had been shut by authorities earlier. Nouri was a critic of harsh policies whose one of the charges were promoting relations with the US and giving publicity to ayatollah Montazeri. Nouri was subsequently tried and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. He was released on November 5th, 2002.

Forth trip. A week before the Khatami left for Germany in June of 2000, news broke out in Iran that the trials of 11 Jews who had been arrested in secret on charges of espionage would begin. The individuals had been in detention for one year before any official news about them was made publicly available. This event eventually lead to the release of the accused, or some very short sentences.

Fifth trip. This was yet another trip to New York for the 2000 UN General Assembly meeting. Two days after the date for the president’s trip, the retrial of Homayun Yahoodian was announced. It was subsequently postponed.

Sixth trip. Two months later in October of 2000 Khatami was preparing for a trip to Japan. And just two days after Khatami left Iran the judiciary began the scandalous trial of attendees of a conference in Berlin, titled “Iran after the Elections”, and organized by the famed Heinrich Boll Stiftung institute. The attendees were Iranian writers and intellectuals who had gathered for a scholarly meeting to evaluate the impact of Khatami’s landslide victory.

Seventh trip. In March of 2001, Khatami made a visit to Russia. The day after he left Tehran, 40 national and religious politicians, including those belonging to the Iran Freedom Movement were arrested, focusing national and international attention on the issue.

Eight trip. Towards the end of 2001, Khatami undertook his last trip to New York to attend his third General Assembly meeting. During the trip, despite intense domestic and international efforts, the judiciary announced that the trials of Iran Freedom Movement politicians, arrested some eight months earlier, would be held in secret proceedings, out of reach of reporters and observers. This court also announced the execution order of an accused person said to belong to the “Mahdaviat” group. Just one day before this trip, the court also found it convenient to begin the trials of those arrested in connection with the Berlin conference.

Ninth trip. This trip took place in November of 2002. One day after the trip, the case that became known as “the polling case” began and on November 4, 2002 Abbas Abdi, a radical student and hostage taker turned moderate journalist, was arrested on charges of “selling information and tempering with polling”. He was subsequently tried and sentenced in December of 2002.

Rather than connecting the events at home with the president foreign trips and the impact of the first on the latter event, I would like to invite readers to reach their own conclusion, ending my piece with “no comment”.

Hojatieh Group Still Active

Iranian blogger, Soheyl Asefi, Rooz Online:

Recent changes in the powerful Majmae Rohaniyun Mobarez association (Association of Combatant Clerics) have included the resignation of the popular Mehdi Karoubi from its leadership position and the rise of cleric Mosavi Khoeniha, a very close associate of the founder of the Islamic republic, who became a household figure when he brought Imam Khomeini’s support to the students who had occupied the US embassy in November of 1979.

Another well-known figure in the leadership council of the association, who also happens to be a founder of Mehdi Karoubi’s new political organization called Etemad Melli (National Trust) is cleric Rasoul Montakhabnia. Montakhabnia has for some time now been warning of the institutionalization of dogmatic and regressive religious thought in Iran.

Here are excerpts Rooz recently had with him. READ MORE

Q-Right up to the election day for the presidency, public opinion polls and analysts showed a different picture from what actually emerged in the ballot boxes. How do you explain this?

A-Those predictions were based on the social conditions of the country. They were mere projections of how things stood at that particular time. But the trends were altered by very powerful personalities right before the elections, and so the projections of existing norms and trends could not foresee the new elements that were thrown into the game. These interventions were outside legal bounds.

Q-Some believe Mehdi Karoubi was the big loser in the elections events.

A-I agree. He was deprived of his just rights in that event. He would have won the elections had the extra-legal hands not intervened. Even Mr. Rafsanjani thinks so.

Q-Did any one seriously pursue the complaints?

A-Yes, but the decision had been made higher up not to alter the results. Mr. Karoubi wrote a unique and unprecedented letter to the leader of the Islamic republic. Even Rafsanjani protested in similar terms, to no avail.

Q-How do you evaluate Karoubi’s departure from the leadership of the association?

A-It is unfortunate that someone who had worked for it for17 years felt betrayed and resigned. Still, he continues to be a member of the association without any management duties.

Q-What is new in the association?

A- Two things: Khatami became its leader and Khoeniha became the secretary general.

Q-Does Khoeniha’s return to the association mean much?

A-The presence of all three, Karoubi, Khatami and Khoeniha, is crucial to the association because Islam and Shism have been placed in a very difficult situation with a very bleak outcome. These three individuals are fighting regressive and dogmatic thoughts.

Q-Is Hojatieh group really strengthening?

A-This is an old regressive movement in Iran. Imam Khomeini’s efforts silenced them for a few years. During the last few years, however, the group is reasserting itself. Regressive thoughts and movements have recently become very powerful again and have even established strong connections to the centers of power and wealth.

Q-Are they the proponents of the Islamic state theory rather than the Islamic republic?

A-Yes. This is not a mistake but a very though through event with very specific ideology. This is the very same thought that has said that our government has not been Islamic for the last 27 years! These thoughts that are against the views of the Imam are now getting stronger.

Q-Is the current leader against this trend?

A-Whatever the case, till today the leader pronounces himself to be the follower of Imam.

Q-In the new political organization, you work side by side with Mr. Karoubi. What do you think will be the role of the group in Iran’s political terrain?

A-We want to create the first popular and extensive party in the Islamic Republic. Not a party that is linked to the government, which has been the case with all parties till today. None of the parties were even extensive. We want to embrace all the political forces of the country, criticize the government and not be part of it.

Q-Others have said similar things. How do you plan to achieve this?

A-We are now in the process of drafting our charter. The fourteen founders of the party have started their work as well. So we are still at the organizational level of our activities. But we will announce our plans.

Q-Will he party accept secular groups?

A-I doubt it. We accept the constitution, the Islamic Republic and Imam Khomeini’s thoughts and principles.

Q-How successful will the new Saba television station created by Mr. Karoubi be, especially in view of the express attacks of Kayhan newspaper and Hezbe Motalefe Islami (Islamic Coalition Party)?

A-Mr. Shariatmadari and others have expressed their personal opinions. But what Mr. Karoubi is doing is within the legal bounds. And let’s not forget that none of these individuals have the stature, record and even sincerity that Mr. Karoubi has demonstrated during his political life. Their criticism equates to putting the cart before the horse.

Iran speaker renews warning of suspending IAEA protocol

NewIndPress:

Iran's parliament speaker renewed a warning of suspending the additional protocol of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reports said on Saturday.

"Considering the latest developments, some of the parliament members are considering to finalise a bill obliging the government to suspend the additional protocol," Hadad Adel was quoted by ISNA as saying.

The IAEA board is scheduled to vote Saturday afternoon on a draft resolution by the European Union (EU) trio Britain, France and Germany calling for referral of the Iran case to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions after the November IAEA meeting.

The initial resolution calling on an immediate referral of Iran to the Security Council was revised last Wednesday after rejection by Russia, China and India and the Non-Aligned Movement member states.

The additional protocol, signed by Iran in December 2003, allows the IAEA unlimited and unannounced inspections of nuclear sites of signatory states. READ MORE

The spokesman of Iran's nuclear delegation in Vienna, Javad Vaidi said that the new EU resolution was clearly moving towards a "confrontation course" with Iran.

The Iranian parliament had earlier this month announced that suspension of the IAEA additional protocol would be raised in the first parliamentary session after the summer holidays, Sep 25.

The IAEA demands Iran to immediately stop uranium conversion in the Isfahan plant in central Iran, which Tehran has so far vehemently rejected.

Regime's News Agency claims: International consensus against Iran fails

Mehr News:

On Saturday, Western countries failed to win an international consensus against Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors meeting in Vienna and were forced to pass a resolution on Iran through a vote.

Most of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) countries on the IAEA Board along with Russia and China refused to vote for the resolution drafted by the European Union.

Iranian nuclear negotiator Javad Vaidi told reporters after the vote that that there is no international concern about Iran’s nuclear program.

Vaidi said the threat to immediately refer Iran to the UN Security Council was torpedoed in the approved resolution.


The vote showed that, despite Western countries’ claims, the dispute over the Iranian nuclear program is just a politicized issue, he observed.

The United States, Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Argentina, Belgium, Ghana, Ecuador, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Slovakia, Japan, Peru, Singapore, South Korea, and India voted for the resolution.

Pakistan, Algeria, Yemen, Brazil, China, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and Vietnam abstained, while Venezuela voted against the resolution. READ MORE

The resolution is in violation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which clearly states that all signatories have the right to make use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

With 22 votes for the resolution, 12 abstentions and only one vote against, the outcome highlighted the split between Western nations and developing nations led by Russia, China, and South Africa, which disagree with Washington and Europe on how to deal with Iran’s nuclear activities.

China and Russia strongly opposed the EU's proposed resolution. India, which had originally opposed the EU resolution, inexplicably voted for it.

Russia and China have long opposed efforts to refer Iran's nuclear dossier to the Security Council.

Both countries fear a UN referral will cause the standoff over Iran's program to escalate into an international crisis.

The EU resolution requires Tehran to be reported to the Security Council, but at an unspecified date -- watering down an earlier demand from the Europeans for an immediate referral.

This means Iran would most likely not be referred to the Council until the IAEA Board meets in November, diplomats say.

The resolution, which diplomats said was prepared in close consultation with Washington, says Iran's "many failures and breaches" of its NPT Safeguards Agreement "constitute non-compliance" with the pact.

It added that there was an "absence of confidence" that Iran's atomic program was exclusively peaceful and this gave rise to questions "within the competence of the Security Council".

For two years, the EU's three biggest powers -- France, Britain and Germany -- have tried to persuade Iran to give up its right to uranium enrichment, a demand which runs counter to the NPT.

Last month, the talks collapsed after Tehran resumed uranium processing and rejected an EU offer of economic and political incentives if it scrapped its uranium enrichment program, prompting the EU trio to join Washington in calling for the case to be sent to the Security Council.

On Friday, diplomats said the Iranian delegation showed some board members and IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei two unsigned letters informing the IAEA what would happen if the EU resolution were approved.

One letter said that Iran would begin enriching uranium, a process that produces nuclear fuel, at the Natanz facility. The second says Tehran would end short-notice inspections under a special NPT protocol.

The vote provides us a clue as to how the UNSC will vote on the Issue. Iran did not get a no vote on the resolution by Russia or China. This has to worry Iran. It is also encouraging that India voted for the resolution.

Iran terms as 'illogical' Saudi claims against Iran

Iran Mania:

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said on Saturday that statement of Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal implicating Iran in Iraq unrest was surprising and illogical. READ MORE

He said that Iran expects its friendly nations not to make such illogical statements.

"We believe when suspicious hands are at work to sow factional and ethnic discord among Muslims in Iraq and the entire region, we should not do in a such way as to enable enemies of Islam to take advantage of differences," Asefi said, according to IRNA.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran always advocates national solidarity in Iraq and unity of different factions to contribute to the political process for adoption of the Constitution in a democratic manner and immediate establishment of peace and stability in Iraq to thwart plots of the enemies of Islam.

"Iran expects all countries especially the friendly nations in the region to contribute to establishment of peace and security in Iraq rather than making the Iraqi nation suspicious of its government," Asefi said.

"Brushing aside any allegation about Iranian interference in Iraq, Iran believes that the great Iraqi nation enjoys enough political capacity to administer their country without foreign interference.

Such a capacity has been proved by Iraqi political and religious leaders and every individual in the country," he said.

UN nuclear body passes EU resolution on Iran

Louis Charbonneau and Francois Murphy, Reuters:

The U.N. nuclear watchdog passed a resolution on Saturday requiring Iran to be reported to the Security Council over a failure to convince the agency its nuclear program was entirely peaceful.

"The resolution was adopted," an IAEA spokeswoman told reporters.

The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) governing board approved it despite Iranian threats to begin enriching uranium if the U.S.-backed resolution, drafted by the EU's three biggest powers, that could eventually lead to U.N. Security Council sanctions against Tehran was passed.

With 22 votes for the resolution, 12 abstentions and only one vote against, the outcome highlighted the split between rich Western nations and poorer developing nations led by Russia, China, South Africa, which disagree with Washington and Europe on how to deal with Iran.

In what EU diplomats said was a victory for Western efforts to ratchet up the pressure on Tehran, both China and Russia, which had strongly opposed the EU's proposed resolution, abstained. Venezuela was the only country to vote against it. READ MORE

India, which had opposed the EU resolution, voted for it.

Iran denies seeking atomic bombs and says its nuclear program is only for generating electricity. However, it concealed its atomic fuel program from the IAEA for 18 years.

Russia, which is building a $1 billion nuclear reactor at Bushehr in Iran and has much to gain from Iran's plans to develop atomic energy, has long been an opponent of referring Iran's program to the Security Council.

China, which needs Iran's vast energy resources for its own booming economy, also opposes the Western drive against Iran.

Both countries fear a U.N. referral will cause the standoff over Iran's program to escalate into an international crisis.

WATERED DOWN RESOLUTION

The EU resolution requires Tehran to be reported to the Security Council, but at an unspecified date — watering down an earlier demand from the Europeans for an immediate referral.

This means Iran would most likely not be referred to the Council until the IAEA board meets in November, diplomats say.

The resolution, which diplomats said was prepared in close consultation with Washington, says Iran's "many failures and breaches" of its nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Safeguards Agreement "constitute non-compliance" with the pact.

It added there was an "absence of confidence" that Iran's atomic program was exclusively peaceful and this gave rise to questions "within the competence of the Security Council."

For two years, the EU's three biggest powers — France, Britain and Germany — have tried to persuade Iran that it needed to abandon its enriched uranium fuel program to convince the world that its atomic ambitions are peaceful.

Last month, the talks collapsed after Tehran resumed uranium processing and rejected an EU offer of economic and political incentives if it scrapped its uranium enrichment program, prompting the EU trio to join Washington in calling for the case to be sent to the Security Council.

Tehran has threatened to retaliate.

On Friday, diplomats said the Iranian delegation had been showing some board members and IAEA general director, Mohamed ElBaradei, two unsigned letters informing the IAEA what would happen if the EU resolution is approved.

One letter said that Iran would begin enriching uranium, a process that produces fuel for atomic power plants or weapons, at an underground facility at Natanz. The second says Tehran would end short-notice inspections under a special NPT protocol.

Now the ball is back in Iran's court. Will it follow through with its threats to retaliate on those nations that voted for the resolution?

Regional Civil Society Forum on the Information Society for the Middle East and West Asia unexpectedly banned by government authorities.

The Arab Network for Human Rights Info:

A regional civil society forum in Iran, grouping 40 Iranian and international delegates to talk about the Internet and information society was banned a few hours before the start of the event.

The second Regional Civil Society Forum on the Information Society for the Middle East and West Asia was to take place in the free trade zone of Kish Island, Iran on August 23-25.

The Forum was organized by Volunteer Actors, an Iranian NGO which also serves as the civil society focal point for the WSIS for the Middle East and West Asia.

The United Nations, the World Bank, UNESCO and the WSIS secretariat collaborated in the planning of the event. READ MORE

The Forum was designed to form recommendations from the region on the Internet and information policy to take to the UN-sponsored WSIS-2 summit scheduled for Tunisia in November, which all national governments and major international organizations will attend.

Civil Society organizations have been an integral part of the WSIS process since its inception and have actively been engaged in drafting declarations.

We, the international organizations present, strongly regret the decision of the Iranian authorities to ban the civil society forum which was to discuss the issues of access to information, freedom of expression on the Internet, and to build the capacities of civil society organizations and women's NGOs through a series of ICT related training programs.

An Iranian governmental delegation attended the WSIS-1 summit in 2003 and Iran is an active participant and signatory to the WSIS Declaration and Plan of Action.

It committed itself to the spirit and ambitions of the Summit and information society, which include the wide participation of government, private and NGO sector actors.

A similar conference to prepare for WSIS-1 was also held at Kish in August 2003 with the full acceptance of the authorities.

Canceling the event is in violation of the established goals and principles of the WSIS.

In Iran, as elsewhere, ICTs play an important part in the development of Iran's economy and society, and its role in the region.

We sincerely hope that this decision was due to local administrative error, and not a considered policy at a strategic level by the Iranian authorities.

Call to action:

The Iranian authorities:

1 We would request that Iranian authorities clarify the reasons why this meeting was cancelled in violation of the spirit of both WSIS and Article 19.
2 We would also like to request the cooperation of the government in guaranteeing the ability to hold future meetings of civil society organizations.
3 The Iranian government should live up to its international commitments and international human rights instruments.
4 The Iranian government should recognize the important role of NGOs and CSOs in advancing social and economic development.

To international development partners and UN bodies:

1 We would request you to use all networks and channels available to you to protest against the decision by the Iranian authorities.
2 We also would like to request you to continue your support to Iranian CSOs, the strengthening of the Iranian civil society, the WSIS process and international human rights.

WSIS authorities:

3 We would request you to lodge a protest with the Iranian authorities on the grounds that their restriction of this conference has contravened their own obligations under the WSIS framework, to which they are signatories.
4 We also would like to request you to facilitate and monitor the participation of Iranian civil society and private sector in all aspects of the WSIS process.

National governments, regional and diplomatic communities

5 We would request you to lodge a protest with the Iranian authorities on the grounds that their restriction of this conference has contravened their own obligations under the WSIS framework and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which they are signatories.
6 We also would like to request you to facilitate and monitor the participation of Iranian civil society and private sector in all aspects of the WSIS process.

Annex: The events as they unfolded…

A month before the meeting:

1 Organizers traveled to Kish and met with the Executive Director of the Kish Free Trade Zone, Mr. Ghasemi and Kish University to coordinate the logistics for the implementation of this meeting in Kish.

The meetings were followed by official letters to both the University and the Kish Free Trade Zone and asking for their cooperation and coordination in convening the meeting.

There were no problems or objections to convening this meeting expressed by the government.

The day before the meeting:

1 Officials from the Office of Amaken (Public Spaces) of the Police Force requested the organizers to submit to them a list of participants, both national and international.
2 Through telephone conversations the Office of Amaken (Public Spaces) of the Police Force informed the organizers that a license was necessary to convene the event.
3 The Office of Foreign Citizens contacted the organizers asking for an explanation for the participation of international organizations, especially those from outside the region.

The organizers explained that the international participants are either qualified trainers or working in the region.

4 The organizers attempted to get a permit from the Kish authorities, who informed them that these types of meetings do not require a license.

But at the same time, the organizers were perplexed because the Amaken office was requiring a license.

5 Finally, the Dept. of Social Affairs in Kish agreed to consider the organizers request for a license and then would respond promptly.

The Dept. of Social Affairs convened a Provincial Security Council meeting.
Day 1 of the meeting (as scheduled):

6 The authorities informed the organizers that the meeting was cancelled because - given the transitional state of the government - the meeting has political consequences for the Kish Free Trade Zone
7 Kish University officials contacted the organizers that they had also been contacted by the Kish authorities and told that the meeting was officially cancelled.
8 The organizers contacted the National High Council on ICT, the Iranian representative to the United Nations, and the Secretariat of the High Council on National Security to lobby for their support and to alter the decision.

The organizers also contacted the Secretariat for Free Trade Zones with responsibility for Kish and other free trade zones in Iran.

9 These efforts and contacts resulted in a change in the position of local authorities which was that the conference could continue but only with certain conditions.

The stipulations were that:

1. The conference could not make any comment on Iran.
2. The organizers should guarantee in writing that they would take responsibility for everything discussed at the meeting, including their opinions.

Discussion of conditions continued through the day and night of the first day of the scheduled conference.

Day 2 of the scheduled conference:

1 The organizers asked for specifics on the terms to see if there steps that could be taken to accommodate the conference. At that point the conference was officially cancelled.
2 The officials announced to the hotel that participants should not gather in groups.
3 A morning meeting intended to inform participants of the conference of the situation was also interrupted as an unsanctioned meeting.
4 The police arrived to inform hotel officials that conference participants are not allowed to gather.

A Sensible Way Out Of This Mess

Shaheen Fatemi, Iran va Jahan:

The irresponsible policy of the IRI in respect to the nuclear issue has created a present and real threat to the territorial integrity and national interest of the Iranian people. Subsequent to the fraudulent election of last summer, Mahmood Ahmadi-Nejad’s appearance at the UN was another catastrophic performance. Of course some people believe he did a great job representing the true nature of the anachronistic and archaic regime that has ruled Iran for the past quarter of the century.

But the fact remains that never in the history of the United Nations any so-called national leader has caused so much shame and embarrassment for his country. His total lack of understanding of the significance of the occasion was apparent from the instant that he began speaking. His entire speech was void of any significant policy statement. Instead, for the most part, it represented a second rate composition authored by a mediocre high school student.

What his speech lacked in elegance and wisdom was compensated for with vituperate denunciation of the United States, Israel and other Western countries. The most embarrassing moment came at the end when he pleaded and prayed for the ‘speedy appearance of the 12th Imam who disappeared in 873 AD but is supposed to return as the Mahdi (messiah) and according to Ahmadi-Nejad, “only when he returns the world shall see real peace and justice.” Never before has anyone expounded such sectarian religious superstition from the podium of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Since the Islamic regime has manifestly failed in every basic responsibility associated with modern states, it strives to divert internal and external attention from this issue.

The calculated strategy of IRI revolves around three main themes:

1. Creation of mass hysteria within the country by spreading the fear of imminent military attack by the United States. This is to create national chauvinism and xenophobia aimed at Americans, the Europeans and westerners in general.

2. Using religious superstition and mass indoctrination among the less educated masses of the urban poor in order to mobilize them against the middle class and the more educated elements of the population while exploiting mass hysteria for recruitment of suicidal volunteers.

3. Internationally by refusing reasonable proposal of the EU-3 and assuming an aggressive international posture, doing everything in its power to provoke diplomatic and military confrontation.

No democratically elected government bound by accountability to its constituents would dare assume such irresponsible postures jeopardizing national interest of the nation. Since the Iranian people within the country for decades have been denied all the basic and rudimentary safeguards of human rights, there is no way that the dissatisfied citizens of Iran can express their dissent.

Under such circumstances it is more than ever incumbent upon the Iranian democratic opposition living in the free world to set aside their possible ideological differences and express their profound opposition to the dangerous policies of the clerical regime in Tehran. It is in this connection that Dr. Hossein Bagherzadeh, a leading proponent and defender of human rights who lives in UK has taken a timely and courageous initiative by proposing the following text: READ MORE

The concerns of the international community about the nuclear programs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the response by the Iranian regime to these concerns, have resulted in a tense and dangerous situation detrimental to the stability and peace in the Middle East and far beyond.

We as concerned Iranians of diverse political outlooks and tendencies wish to express our common positions on this vital international issue and plead for international understanding and backing of these positions.

1. We firmly believe in the inalienable right of the Iranian people to acquire and exploit nuclear technology and know-how for peaceful purposes.

2. We regard proliferation of nuclear weapons as a major threat to the world peace, and support the international Non-Proliferation Treaty and other peaceful international initiatives for controlling the spread of nuclear weapons.

3. We regard the nuclear weapons as weapons of mass destruction whose use are morally deplorable and legally indefensible, and support all international efforts for nuclear disarmament and the elimination of all nuclear weapons.

4. We condemn the clandestine nuclear activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the past, and call for and support full transparency of Iran’s nuclear programs.

5. We are suspicious of the true aims of the Iranian regime in its nuclear program, and share the concerns of the international community in this regard. We are of the opinion that in the absence of a democratic system in Iran, and with the stated aims and intentions of the Islamic Republic, it is incapable of securing the trust of the international community in its nuclear program.

6. We are of the opinion that a halt in the enrichment program in Iran would not harm Iran’s capability in the nuclear industry. Iran has a great pool of expertise and know-how in the nuclear industry both inside and outside Iran, and in a democratic Iran these can be called upon to work on a transparent nuclear program for peaceful purposes.

7. In the circumstances and in order to alleviate the international concerns about Iran’s nuclear program, we support the call by the European Union led by Britain, France and Germany for a complete halt to the enrichment program in Iran in exchange for the supply of all necessary materials and technology for Iran’s nuclear power program.

8. We strongly oppose any military intervention in Iran and regard such action as detrimental to democracy in Iran and peace and security in the region, and plead to the world community to channel all its resources through the Iranian democratic opposition for change in Iran rather than through the military means.

9. We firmly believe that democratic change in Iran is the best guarantor for solving the international impasse over Iran’s nuclear program. We call on the international community to support the Iranian people’s campaign for democracy and human rights as a means of solving the nuclear program issue.

Iran Linked to 1985 Bombing at US Air Base in Germany

Khaleej Times Online:

Federal investigators in Germany have unearthed new evidence linking Iran to the 1985 bombing of a US military base that injured 35 persons, according to a report on Saturday.

Iranian secret agents allegedly detonated explosives concealed in a vehicle at the Frankfurt post-exchange food store on November 24, 1985, said the report in Focus news magazine.

Focus said investigators believe the agents were members of a hit squad working on orders from Teheran to eliminate dissidents living in Europe in exile. READ MORE

The hit squad was also responsible for the deaths of two dissidents, one in Hamburg in 1987 and one in Bonn in 1992, the magazine said, citing sources within the German federal prosecutor’s office.

Investigators were quoted as saying the “credible new evidence” comes from a former Iranian secret service official.

Iran Walking Into a Trap?

Amir Taheri, Arab News:

As the drumbeat of war gets louder in Tehran it is, perhaps, time to wonder whether President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s new administration is not walking into a trap partly of its own making.

Over the past week or so Iranian officials at various levels have made a number of statements that could harm Iran’s interests at a difficult time.

Many had hoped that Ahmadinejad would use the opportunity provided by his presence at the UN General Assembly in New York to offer a way out of the diplomatic impasse over Iran’s alleged nuclear ambitions.

But that didn’t happen.

Ahmadinejad’s speeches and interviews represented an improvement over his predecessor Muhammad Khatami, a mulla, who amused UN audiences by trying to show off his knowledge of Hobbes and Hegel. Unlike Khatami, Ahmadinejad did not pretend to be what he is not, that is to say a liberal democrat. Instead, he spoke as a radical Islamist revolutionary representing a radical Islamist revolutionary regime.

Nevertheless, Ahmadinejad committed a mistake by making no distinction between rhetoric and real politics.

Before Ahmadinejad arrived in New York many in the UN saw Iran as a poor developing nation being bullied by big powers on spurious grounds. Ahmadinejad replaced that image with one of a cocky midsized power trying to punch above its weight regardless of the consequences.

That impression was subsequently strengthened by sermons in Tehran by the “Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenehi.

Meanwhile, various officials have been acting as loose cannons.

Ali Larijani, the new secretary-general of the High Council of National Defense, has threatened that Iran might withdraw from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) rather than continue the diplomatic wrangle with it. (That threat, however, was withdrawn by Ghulamreza Aqazadeh, Ahmadinejad’s assistant for nuclear affairs, hours later.)

Next it was the turn of Islamic Majlis Speaker Ghulam-Ali Haddad-Adel, to issue a threat that Iran might withdraw from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). (Since Ahmadinejad has not succeeded in appointing an oil minister it is not clear who speaks on the subject.)

That the administration was out of sync was further illustrated by Manuchehr Mottaki, the new foreign minister, who told European Union colleagues that Ahmadinejad’s tough speech at the UN should be taken with a pinch of salt. A similar message was relayed by the Islamic Republic’s ambassadors at the UN, and in London, Paris and Berlin.

Ahmadinejad’s braggadocio has also inspired editorial writers in Tehran who, now that the radical faction is in control, are trying to renew their revolutionary credentials. One way of doing so is to call for the withdrawal of the Islamic Republic not only from the NPT and OPEC but also from the United Nations.

At the same time, mullas working for the government have seized Ahmadinejad’s warlike language to heat up the situation further. In a speech in Qom last week, one such mulla, Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, claimed that it was Iran’s mission to lead a global revolution and “liberate” the world in the name of the “Hidden Imam” whose birthday was celebrated on Sept. 21.

To add to the confusion, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani has been touring the region at the head of a 30-man delegation that included two former foreign ministers, a former minister of intelligence and security, and several political mullas. Rafsanjani, who heads something called The Expediency Council, behaved as if he, and not Ahmadinejad, were the president of the Islamic Republic, and tried to engage his embarrassed hosts on issues outside the remit of his current job.

Rafsanjani is not alone in this game of make-believe.

Khatami, who also appears to have difficulty in getting used to the idea of Ahmadinejad as president, has spent the past few weeks touring the provinces to address small anti-Ahmadinejad crowds as if engaged in a presidential election campaign.

Part of this bizarre situation may be due to Ahmadinejad’s inexperience in politics at national and international levels.

It is obvious that he has not yet mastered the details of such complicated dossiers as the nuclear program. Also, Ahmadinejad has little direct knowledge of the outside world and the workings of the global system. His only previous visit to the West was in 1989 when he spent a week in Vienna as part of an official team from Tehran negotiating with Kurdish dissidents in exile. (The episode ended in a shoot-out in which three Kurdish leaders were killed by a hit squad from Tehran. Ahmadinejad, apparently not informed about the plot, was injured.)

Ahmadinejad’s lack of experience in international affairs is compounded by the fact that the Islamic Republic’s media and foreign policy establishments are filled with members or at least sympathizers of the Rafsanjani-Khatami faction.

The Islamic Republic’s diplomatic service has never been politically neutral, partly because few of its members are career diplomats. Politicians and mullas could become ambassadors, or even foreign minister, while ambassadors could resign their diplomatic positions to stand for election in local or national contests. A mulla who has served as ambassador could leave diplomacy to become Friday prayer leader in a province.

Ahmadinejad knows that the diplomatic service, together with the rest of the administration, is filled with foes who regard him as an intruder if not a usurper. But he would need time to place his own men in key positions.

By pushing Ahmadinejad, and with him the Islamic Republic, into a major international crisis, the defeated faction pursues a number of objectives. READ MORE

First, a government preoccupied with a diplomatic crisis would have little time to act on Ahmadinejad’s campaign promise of auditing the last 16 years to “ bring to book those who have robbed the nation and wrecked its economy.”

Secondly, the new administration could be weakened by a crisis that it manifestly cannot handle at this stage. That would give Ahmadinejad’s opponents an opportunity for chipping away at his authority by raising the profile of the organs they still control. (As noted above Rafsanjani is already doing that through his so-called Expediency Council.)

Thirdly, a weakened administration would be unable to implement the reforms that Ahmadinejad has promised. These include a pledge to restore state control over the oil industry that has been transformed into a banquet table for some 40 private companies that, according to Ahmadinejad, have acted as “rapacious vultures.”

Finally, Ahmadinejad’s failure could ensure his faction’s defeat in the parliamentary elections in two years’ time, enabling the “rapacious vultures” to stage a comeback.

The negative impact of the war noises made in Tehran is already felt in the economic domain with a fall in the value of the rial, Iran’s currency. This is all the more surprising because, thanks to record high oil prices, Iran is earning over $200 million a day in foreign exchange. Many business contracts have been frozen while even small companies and private citizens are transferring as much of their capital as they can to foreign banks and offshore funds.

A nation’s foreign policy is a continuation of its domestic politics; and the Islamic Republic is no exception. While the Islamic Republic’s foreign enemies wish to force it into isolation, Ahmadinejad’s domestic foes are cheering him on his way into a diplomatic trap. Ahmadinejad seems to believe that he can take on the Western powers, led by the United States, in a limited conflict, and defeat them thus becoming a national hero and a pan-Islamic knight riding the steed of history in triumph. That is a juvenile illusion that could wreck Ahmadinejad’s presidency before it finds its cruising speed.