Monday's Daily Briefing on Iran

DoctorZin reports, 3.06.2006:

What kind of "democracy" do Iran's new leaders want?

• Iran Press News reported that Ahmadinejad's spiritual mentor, Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi said: "the only way to protect and promote the ascendancy of the Islamic rule is to set their entire world on fire" and "Islamic rule is not in the majority vote of the people; in general people are too stupid." Plus much more.
• Itar-Tass reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said: “The world will be in the hands of Islam over the next few years.”

Sharansky: what does it mean to bring democracy to the Middle East?

• Natan Sharansky, Los Angeles Times responded to his critics, who point to recent elections of hard-liners in the Middle East as evidence of the failure of efforts to bring democracy there. A must read.

IAEA meets today and Iran remains defiant.

• DW-World.de reported that the Islamic republic's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said Iran will not freeze sensitive nuclear "research" work even if it is hauled before the UN Security Council.
• CNN News reported that Iran will resume large-scale nuclear enrichment if the IAEA board of governors refers the Islamic Republic to the U.N. Security Council.
• Reuters reported that Iran reiterated it had no plans to use its oil exports as a weapon in a dispute over its nuclear program but said it could still do so "if conditions changed".

US warns Iran.

• Reuters reported that the US administration warned that Iran faced "painful consequences" if it continued sensitive nuclear activities.

Iranian regime leaders are worried about the threat from within.

• Iran Press News reported that the regime has banned the March 15th celebration of the hugely popular "Festival of Fire." The edict saying: "The use of fireworks, sparklers and fire crackers which will lead to fun, conviviality and frolic is haraam and any further references to all Persian traditions and culture before Islam is directly anti-Islamic and immoral."
• Rooz Online reported that Ahmadinejad has announced a state of emergency in eight government ministries.

Holocaust Conference Starts Tomorrow in Tehran.

• Iran Focus reported that Iran’s conference on Holocaust denial will begin on Tuesday.

Rumors of War.

• Sunday Times reported that NATO Major-General Axel Tüttelman discussing NATO’s possible involvement in any future military strike against Iran, said: “We would be the first to be called up if the NATO council decided we should be.”
• IranMania reported that Iran owns advanced technology in electronic warfare and can combat any such attacks on its military equipment.
  
• The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli Special Forces are working in Iran to locate the precise sites at which Iran continues to enrich uranium.
• The Washington Post reported that former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami warned that tensions between the Islamic world and the West are taking the shape of a new Cold War.
• Yahoo News reported that Iran has arrested a nuclear spy who allegedly passed classified information to arch-foe the United States.

Hezbollah and Syria sign an accord.

• Iran Press News reported on the signing of an accord between Lebanese Hezbollah and the Syrian Baath party.
  

Who is in charge of distributing the $85 in pro-democracy funds?

• Sunday Times reported that Vice President Cheney's daughter, Elizabeth, in charge of spending the $85m allocated to promote democracy in Iran. She is the deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs.

Iran's Dissidents.

• Rooz Online reported that a senior Passdaran Revolutionary Guards Corps commander revealed plans to detain and extract fake confessions from reformers.
• Iran Press News reported that the Organization of The Defense of Women's Rights released a report on the condition of Iranian women.
• Iran Press News provided an update on Iranian blogger and political prisoner, Mojtaba Samii-nejad who is being detained at Ghezel-hesor prison.
• Iran Press News reported that a 14 year old boy arrested, flogged and imprisoned for "demonstrating."
• Iran Press News reported that Dutch immigration officials plan to send Iranian homosexual asylum-seekers back to Iran.

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

• The Times reported that the U.S. Administration is riven by divisions over how it should tackle Iran’s defiance of the international community.
• Pittsburg Online reported that US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad in Iraq said: "The struggle for Iraq is the struggle for the future of the world."
• And finally, Iran Press News reported that the automobile racing federation of the Islamic Republic invalidated the scores for the speed competition in which Leila Sadigh was the frontrunner and completely banned all sports that included mixed competition.