A Daily Briefing on Iran: Week in Review

DoctorZin provides a review of this past week's [5/28/06 - 6/03/06] major news events regarding Iran. (The reports are listed in chronological order, not by importance) READ MORE

Iran's Nuclear Program & The UN Security Council.

Reuters reported that the United States is pushing Europe and Japan to use broad sanctions to financially pressure Iran's leadership if diplomacy fails to resolve an international dispute over Iran's nuclear activities.
Times Online reported that the US Government is putting Britain’s £1 billion annual trade with Iran at risk by pressing European banks to withdraw from the country.
Reuters reported that Iran is pressing ahead with research tests on nuclear fusion, a type of atomic reaction which has yet to be developed for commercial power generation, but is used to produce thermonuclear bombs.
Yahoo News reported that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying that the world's major powers are ready to guarantee Iran's right to develop nuclear energy provided Tehran cooperates fully with the UN nuclear safety agency.
CTV reported that U.S., Russian, Chinese and European officials plan to sign off this week on a package of incentives and penalties meant to reward Iran if it gives up uranium enrichment -- and punish it if it doesn't.
Yahoo News reported that Iran said it had no intention of moving all of its uranium enrichment work to Russia.
Bloomberg reported that Iran said it is pressing ahead with its nuclear program, rejecting reports that it plans to scale the plan back.
FoxNews reported that the presidents of Russia and the United States discussed Iran's nuclear program Tuesday before a six-nation meeting.
The New York Times reported that the world's non-aligned states are likely to throw their weight behind Iran in its nuclear stand-off with the West, at a meeting in Malaysia.
Richard Brookhiser, The Wall Street Journal suggested that in dealing with Iran the US should look to our first, second, third and fourth presidents and their own dealings with Islamic rogue nations.
Secretary Condoleezza Rice, U.S. State Department published a major statement on Iran: "Thus, to underscore our commitment to a diplomatic solution and to enhance the prospects for success, as soon as Iran fully and verifiably suspends its enrichment and reprocessing activities, the United States will come to the table with our EU-3 colleagues and meet with Iran’s representatives." Full Text.
US State Department released a transcript of the Rice interview with Wolf Blitzer, CNN about her statement on Iran.
Michael Ledeen, The Corner responded to Rice's offer to Iran.
Wall Street Journal examined Condi's Iran Gambit and concludes that Ahmadinejad is getting what he wanted.
The Scotsman reported that Iran's official news agency IRNA said that an offer by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to join European nations in talks with Iran if it suspends uranium enrichment was a "propaganda move".
Mehran Riazaty reported that Fars News Agency reported that Kazem Jalali, the spokesman for the Iran parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said that the root of the US talks with Iran is positive, but Iran will reject any direct talks in which the US sets any preconditions.
Yahoo News reported that the six world powers agreed on a "significant" package of incentives to convince Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Becket said. "I am pleased to say we have agreed (on) a set of far-reaching proposals."
The Financial Times reported that pressure has mounted on Iran to consider carefully the US offer of conditional talks as world powers met in Vienna.
Times Online considered the question: How should we read the Iranian Foreign Minister's declaration, is he rejecting the American offer out of hand?
ABC News reported that a European Union diplomat said: "There is something like a catalog of sanctions and we can pick and choose from them. The agreement reached ... is also that Russia and China can abstain from any sanctions, but not say no."
The Guardian reported that Britain said that military force against Iran is not on the agenda in the international impasse over Iran's uranium enrichment program.
Reuters reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "I can say unambiguously that all the agreements from yesterday's meetings rule out in any circumstances the use of military force."
News24.com reported that Iran has "weeks" to respond to a diplomatic initiative agreed on Thursday by the United States and other major powers.
New York Sun reported that President Bush said of Iran: "If they continue their obstinance, if they continue to say to the world, 'We really don't care what your opinion is,' then the world is going to act in concert."
The Times Online examined Condi Rice's Iran strategy and why Europe is likely to undermine it.
BBC News reported that Javier Solana will deliver proposals agreed by six world powers in a visit Iran in the next few days in the latest diplomatic effort to persuade Iran to halt nuclear research.
Mehran Riazaty published a summary of the recent comments by Iranian authorities on direct talks with the United States on its nuclear program.

The Unrest in Iran.

Rooz Online provided a detailed report on the recent student unrest in Tehran.
The Christian Science Monitor argued that ethnic tensions could crack Iran's firm resolve against the world.
Ken Timmerman, Iran.org reported on the recent protests by Christian Iranians in the Northwest city of Ourimieh, in West Azerjaijan province.
Rooz Online reported that an Iranian MP had informed other MPs of the march of some 10,000 protestors from the towns of Orumie, Ardebil, Tabriz, and Zanjan to Tehran to hold a sit-in in front of the Parliament.
Rooz Online reported on the ban on media coverage of the growing Azerbaijan unrest.
Rooz Online reported on the arrest of a large number of student activists and crackdown of students.
Rooz Online reported that the planned trips of 8 Iranian journalists and intellectuals who had been invited to participate in international forums outside Iran have been cancelled.
SMCCDI reported that several women and their male supporters were beaten or rounded up, yesterday, at the occasion of a soccer game.
CNSNews.com reported that ethnic unrest continues in parts of Iran, prompting some exiled members of Iranian minorities to step up calls for a concerted effort to topple the clerical regime.
Bill Samii, Radio Free Europe reported that as unrest among ethnic Azeris in Iran settles down, disturbances involving university students are picking up.

Iranian President seeks to join Russia and China's Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The Hindu reported that Donald H. Rumsfeld questioned Iran's involvement with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), saying the regime's terrorist links clashed with the aims of the Russian and Chinese-dominated group.

Iran's leaders latest statements.

Ha'aretz reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said: "there is no such country" as Israel.

Iranian leaderships unity weakening?

MEMRI published: Power Struggle in Iran – Part II: Elections for the Assembly of Experts.

Iranian Dissidents.

Reporters Without Borders called for the “immediate release” of two Azeri journalists, Amin Movahedi and Orouj Amiri.
The Price of Freedom reported that Abed Tavanche an Iranian dissident blogger in Iran has supposedly been arrested.
Rooz Online reported that Mansour Osanloo, the head of Iran’s bus syndicate is still in prison and refusing to make fake concessions or repent as requested by his interrogators.
Reporters Without Borders said it was “very worried” about Abed Tavanchech, a blogger and student at Tehran’s Amirkabir polytechnic university, who has been missing since 26 May and may well have been arrested after posting photos and reports about the demonstrations.
Reuters reported that Canada has asked Iran to either charge or release prominent philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo.

Human Rights and Freedom of the Press in Iran.

Rooz Online reported that in recent days, the Iranian government has sharply increased its control and monitoring of Internet users though what is known as “smart filtering.”
Rooz Online reported on the ban on media coverage of the growing Azerbaijan unrest.
Reporters Without Borders reported that Iran's Supreme Guide Ali Khamenei is a predator of press freedom.
The New York Times reported that members of the Bahai religious minority in Iran said that the government had recently intensified a campaign of arrests, raids and propaganda that was aimed at eradicating their religion in Iran.

Rumors of War.

Reuters reported that Israel will fully participate in a NATO naval exercise for the first time, in the face of arch-foe Iran's nuclear program.

Support for Internal Regime Change in Iran?

Reuters reported that the exiled son of Iran's late shah on Monday called on the Bush administration to put action before rhetoric in ousting Tehran's Islamic regime.
The Wall Street Journal published a surprising interview with Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah of Iran. He called the US offer for direct talks with Iran "overall . . . a good move by Washington." The reason? "It will once and for all force Tehran's hand,"
Izvestia also published an interview with Reza Pahlavi who stated that by July-August he will have formed a non-violent movement with the purpose to overthrow the current regime in Tehran.

Iran's Troublemaking.

The Jerusalem Post reported that if cornered by the West over its nuclear program, Iran could direct Hizbollah to enlist its widespread international support network to aid in terrorist attacks.

US/Iran talks?

Investor's Business Daily, in an editorial, warned that if the U.S. were to engage in bilateral talks with Iran, it would let Iran play the "America as bully" card, claiming the U.S. is being too tough on a "developing" nation.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Iran has turned to Greece to convey messages to the United States regarding its contentious nuclear program and other disputes, officials said.
Secretary Condoleezza Rice, U.S. State Department published a major statement on Iran: "Thus, to underscore our commitment to a diplomatic solution and to enhance the prospects for success, as soon as Iran fully and verifiably suspends its enrichment and reprocessing activities, the United States will come to the table with our EU-3 colleagues and meet with Iran’s representatives." Full Text.
US State Department released a transcript of the Rice interview with Wolf Blitzer, CNN about her statement on Iran.
Michael Ledeen, The Corner responded to Rice's offer to Iran.
Wall Street Journal examined Condi's Iran Gambit and concludes that Ahmadinejad is getting what he wanted.
The Scotsman reported that Iran's official news agency IRNA said that an offer by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to join European nations in talks with Iran if it suspends uranium enrichment was a "propaganda move".
Mehran Riazaty reported that Fars News Agency reported that Kazem Jalali, the spokesman for the Iran parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said that the root of the US talks with Iran is positive, but Iran will reject any direct talks in which the US sets any preconditions.
Eli Lake, The New York Sun reported that Iran's democratic opposition and the key Republican senator who has supported them are alarmed at yesterday's about-turn by Secretary of State Rice on engaging Iran in negotiations over its enrichment of uranium.
Michael Rubin, National Review Online criticized the US offer of nuclear talks with Iran saying: "Not only did Rice provide Ahmadinejad with an opportunity to humiliate the “arrogant power” to his domestic audience, but she also undercut what little international credibility the U.S. retains."
Kenneth R. Timmerman, FrontPageMagazine.com reported that Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice threw down the gauntlet when offering the Iranian regime a clear choice between confrontation and accommodation with the West. He argued, when Iran makes its refusal known officially, it will not be time to unleash the dogs of war, but instead to help the Iranian people to achieve their freedom.
The New York Times reported on the events that shifted the US stance on direct talks with Iran.

Iran and the International community.

Middle East Newsline reported that Russia has again signaled a delay in the delivery of advanced air defense systems to Iran.
The Washington Times reported that an international Jewish human rights group again urged Germany to bar Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from attending soccer's World Cup finals.
Zaman.com reported that the US House of Representatives asked Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to step in to solve the Iranian nuclear crisis without arms.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that Iran and Venezuela are discussing the creation of a heavy oil processing plant in the Orinico belt that could supply the Islamic nation with gasoline.
Reuters reported that a group of 75 European Union lawmakers called for Iranian President Ahmadinejad to be banned from entering the bloc until he renounces inflammatory statements on Israel and the Holocaust.
Monsters & Critics reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Iran's football team he would make every effort to visit them in Germany if they reach the second round of the World Cup.

Must Read reports.

The New York Times reported that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is trying to consolidate power in the office of the presidency in a way never before seen in the 27-year history of the Islamic Republic.
The Financial Times reported that President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad will need to spend an extra 5 Billon Dollars this year to pay for subsidies on sales to motorists of imported petrol.
Spiegel published its aggressive interview with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad discussing the Holocaust, the future of the state of Israel, mistakes made by the United States in Iraq and Tehran's nuclear conflict with the West.
Alan Peters, AntiMullah said publishing of the names and addresses of these radicals is a one way of reducing the violent suppression of the Iranian opposition.
Mehran Riazaty sees a connection between the deadly traffic accident Monday involving U.S. troops sparked the worst rioting in the Afghan capital since the fall of the Taliban government, and Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai's trip to Iran.
The American Thinker criticized the New York Times and its recent positive treatment of Ahmadinejad.
Iraq The Model provided evidence that CNN mistranslated a statement by an Iraqi minister defending Iran's nuclear program.
Asia Times argued that the regime wants nothing short of ironclad guarantees that the US would not now, or in the future, attempt to destabilize its government.
Marinka Peschmann, Western Standard reported that Iran's democrats are furious that former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark is protecting the mullahcracy he helped install. A must read.
Allister Heath, The Spectator provides historical insight into why the Neo-Nazis are rallying to Iran's President.

The Experts.

Amir Taheri, The Jerusalem Post reported that while some in Washington still talk of "preemptive war" against "rogue states," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is practicing what could be labelled "preemptive diplomacy." An examination of the Iranian strategy.
Ken Timmerman, Iran.org reported on the recent protests by Christian Iranians in the Northwest city of Ourimieh, in West Azerjaijan province.
Michael Ledeen, National Review Online examines the Ahmadinejad interview in Der Spiegel.
Michael Ledeen, The Corner responded to Rice's offer to Iran.
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., Townhall.com argued why the world should divest Iran.
Michael Rubin, National Review Online criticized the US offer of nuclear talks with Iran saying: "Not only did Rice provide Ahmadinejad with an opportunity to humiliate the “arrogant power” to his domestic audience, but she also undercut what little international credibility the U.S. retains."
Kenneth R. Timmerman, FrontPageMagazine.com reported that Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice threw down the gauntlet when offering the Iranian regime a clear choice between confrontation and accommodation with the West. He argued, when Iran makes its refusal known officially, it will not be time to unleash the dogs of war, but instead to help the Iranian people to achieve their freedom.