Saturday's Daily Briefing on Iran

DoctorZin reports, 2.25.2006:

While Iran blames the US. Israel and Britain for the bombing ...

• Iran Focus reported that the Supreme Commander of IRGC accused the United States, Britain, and Israel of carrying out Wednesday’s bomb attack.

Evidence is pointing to Iran being behind the bombing in Samarra.

• John Batchelor, The American Spectator Blog reported that the best signals source points to the Samarra mosque bombing in Iraq as the launch operation of the Iranian counteroffensive.
• Kamangir (Archer) argued that there are similarities between the attack on Samarra and an earlier attack on a holy site in Iran where one of the regime's intelligence officers confessed to attack but was seeking to blame that attack on opponents of the regime.
• Iran Focus reported that many Sunni groups believe that Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security may have been behind the bombing.
• Iran Press News reported that the Islamic regimes radio, IRIB, in an analysis, attested to planting bombs in holy Shiite areas in Iraq to create chaos and crisis.
• Chester, The Adventures of Chester argued that war with Iran may have already begun.
• Asia Times reported that after the attack several al-Qaeda members in Iran have been moved to safe houses run by Iranian intelligence near Tehran.

Bush says Iran is a "nation held hostage."

• The White House published the text of Bush's speech before the American Legion where he said: "Iran is a nation held hostage by a small clerical elite that is isolating and repressing its people, and denying them basic liberties and human rights."

Imprisoned dissidents fear for their lives, plead for help.

• Iran Press News reported that two Iranian dissidents, Valiollah Fayz-Mahdavi and Asad Shaqaqi, said: "Within the last 24 hours we have been told that we will kill ourselves either with knives or with cleaning liquid!"
• Amnesty International reported that executions in Iran are continuing at an alarming rate.

Russia and China travel to Iran for last minute talks.

• Reuters reported that leaders from Russia and China traveled to Iran on Friday to persuade Iran to accept a compromise proposal over its nuclear program.

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

• ISN argued that the arrest of some 1,000 Sufi worshippers is due to an increasing popularity of Sufism in Iran.
• Channel News Asia reported that Iran is now operating a 10-centrifuge cascade in a step forward in uranium enrichment; despite Western fears it is seeking atom bombs.
• Iran Press News reported that a member of 7th Majlis (Islamic Parliaments Assembly) confessed that influence peddlers have permeated the Islamic Parliaments Assembly.
• And finally, Ze'ev Schiff, Ha'aretz examined: What is spurring Ahmadinejad?