Tuesday's Daily Briefing on Iran

DoctorZin reports, 1.24.2005:

Take back the initiative on Iran: Broadcast the truth into Iran.

Right now Ahmadinejad has the initiative. The West needs to regain it, now. Evidence of fissures in the ruling elite inside of Iran, the corruption of its leaders, and concern among the Iranian people that bad times are ahead for them soon; provide the West with an opportunity to support the pro-democracy forces as never before. If we don't want war or an nuclear Iran, now is the time to encourage internal dissent. Read these reports.

• Michael Ledeen, National Review Online reminded us that the Iranian regime is increasingly vulnerable to an internal regime change if the west would invest the resources necessary to broadcast the truth about the regime to its people.
• Kenneth R. Timmerman, NewsMax.com reported that Iran's apocalyptic President is creating internal fissures in the regime that the US needs to exploit now.
• Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, The Weekly Standard reported on how to understand and exploit Iran's internal fissures.

More Warnings from Iran.

• Al Jazeera reported that Iranian President Ahmadinejad said that the Middle East conflict has become “the locus of the final war” between Muslims and the West.
• Iran Focus reported that Rafsanjani said: “The nuclear arena is one area where the Europeans seem to have problems making one enormous decision”. “The enemies are trying from to stop us from reaching our goals using different tactics”.
• The Financial Times reported that Iran’s top nuclear official warned Tehran would resume efforts to enrich uranium on an industrial scale if its case was reported to the UN Security Council.

Western Leaders: Some tough, some patient.

• The Jerusalem Post reported that John Bolton, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said: US President George W. Bush will not accept a nuclear Iran.
• Reuters reported that U.S. President George W. Bush said on Monday he was concerned a future nuclear-armed Iran could blackmail the world.
  
• The U.S. Department of State said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Italian Deputy Prime Minister Gianfranco Fini called for the international community to take a tough, unified position on Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program.
• Dow Jones Newswires reported that Prime Minister Tony Blair said: "We have no desire whatever to act against people in Iran."
• Telegraph added that Tony Blair insisted he did not want to take any action against Iran, saying it would be a "terrible miscalculation."
• Dow Jones Newswires reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a step-by-step diplomatic approach in the standoff with Iran.
• The Wall Street Journal reported that as U.S. and European officials press to have Iran brought before the United Nations Security Council, they are also promising that Tehran won't face serious punishment there -- for quite a while.

Did the Russians torpedo their own proposal?

• Sara Esfahani, Rooz Online reported that an Iranian leader complained that the Russians were not supposed to make their nuclear proposal public and that the revelations of the plan made its acceptance by the more radical elements of the government very difficult.

El Baradei slowing things down.

• Reuters reported that El Baradei, the IAEA chief said "no" to a broad Iran report for February meeting.

Secrets Exposed.

• Telegraph reported that Iran has secretly extended the uranium enrichment plant at the centre of the international controversy.

MSM Primers on the Iran nuclear issue.

• The Christian Science Monitor reported why the US doesn't trust Iran on nukes.
• Tod Lindberg, Washington Times examined the complexities dealing with a nuclear Iran.

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

• Christopher Dickey, Newsweek reported that if Iran initiates an Armageddon, those who survive will look back and see the warnings.
• Rooz Online reported on the governments rising confrontation with Iran's students.
• And finally, Hossein Bastani, Rooz Online reported how Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi applies his ideology, in his own words.