Week in Review

DoctorZin provides a review of this past week's [1/16/06 -1/07/22] major news events regarding Iran. (The reports are listed in chronological order, not by importance) READ MORE

Rumors of War.

• MosNews reported that Israel could launch a missile attack on Iran in the upcoming spring.
• The Jerusalem Post reported that IAF pilots have completed their mission training and fighter jets have been prepared for an Israeli attack on Iran.
  
• Los Angeles Times in an op/ed asked: Are we living through the origins of the next world war?
• Simon Jenkins, The Guardian thinks the west has picked a fight that it cannot win.
• Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, The CounterTerrorism Blog reported that as the Iran showdown draws closer, don't expect Iran or the U.S. to back down.
• Spiegel Online reported that French President Jacques Chirac on Thursday threatened states developing weapons of mass destruction with nuclear retaliation.
• Daily News reported that acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said: Israel will not allow Iran to get the bomb.
• Economic Times reported that Nicholas Burns, the US under secretary of state for political affairs speaking about the current crisis with Iran, said: “This is the most serious issue before the world."
• Monsters & Critics reported that Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz warned the Iranian people Saturday that they faced 'destruction' unless they managed to restrain their new President.
• Israelnn reported that Ken Timmerman claimed that the US and Israel will destroy Iran's nuclear facilities in less than 10 weeks from now. Audio of the interview.

Other Options? How about an Internal Regime Change?

• The Christian Science Monitor reported that current diplomatic efforts are prompting some officials and analysts to lay out a range of Plan B's, but not regime change.
• The Times reviewed the options for the world towards Iran.
• The Editors, The National Review published an excellent statement on the Iran crisis and the poor options facing the west, but they seem to have forgotten the opportunity for the west to support a regime change in Iran.
• Iran Press News reported that European nations have ordered their private commercial companies and banks to suspend their issuance of contracts with their Islamic Republic counterparts.
• Iran Press News reported that German deputy Foreign Minister Gernot Erler said he favored imposing travel restrictions on Iranian politicians.
• Frederick Kempe, The Wall Street Journal pondered the Iranian "Tipping Point."
• Jonathan Gurwitz, San Antonio Express-News argued that the world can't ignore the cries calling for change in Iran.
• Mark Steyn, Telegraph asked: Would it not be feasible to turn the tables on the Iranian regime and upgrade Iran's somewhat lethargic dissidents?
• The New York Sun reported that the strong showing for Iranian-backed Islamists in last month's Iraqi election are prompting backers of the Bush Doctrine of spreading democracy in the Middle East to call for refinements in implementing the policy - but not for its wholesale abandonment.
• Michael Rubin, Wall Street Journal reported that 80% of the population have lost faith in the Islamic Republic and do not want to live under theocracy any more than do Americans or Europeans.
• Jonah Goldberg, The National Review reminded us that there is a third option in dealing with Iran, regime change from within.
• Michael Ledeen, The National Review examined why the Iranian people are waiting for the international community to stand with them in their desire to remove the Iranian regime.
• Magna Carta, a new Iranian opposition group, issued a letter to the international community calling for political and media support for their efforts to create a free and democratic Iran.
• Joe Katzman, Winds of Change.net argued why failure to support an internal regime change inside of Iran will likely lead to at least 10 million dead.
• Eli Lake, The New York Sun discussed the opportunity for the academic left to abandon its neutrality in the war between Iranians and the mullahs who hold them captive.
• Reuters reported that the State Department is spending millions of dollars to boost democracy in Iran, but added, the U.S. goal was not to overthrow the Iranian government via these grants.
• Vance Serchuk, The Weekly Standadrd argued that there is much the US can do to pressure the Iranian regime to give up its nuclear program.
  

Ahmadinejad.

• Robert Tait, The Observer reported that Ahmadinejad accused the west being in the "dark ages' in its mentality and then said: If they want to deny us our rights, we have ways to secure those rights.'
• Robert Tait, The Guardian reported that Iran was warning the west that soaring oil prices would be the result if Iran is subjected to economic sanctions.
• CBS News reported that Iran, whose president has declared the Holocaust a myth, announced Sunday it would hold a conference to examine the scientific evidence concerning Nazi Germany's massacre of the Jews. No date yet.
• Mehran Riazaty provided highlights of Ahmadinejad first press conference. Photos.
• Yahoo News reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met in Damascus with the leaders of 10 radical Palestinian movements.
• Iran Focus reported that Ahmadinejad appointed, Hojjatoleslam Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, as the new head of the National Security Council. Pour-Mohammadi was a notorious former deputy intelligence minister, whose agents “systematically engaged in extra-judicial killings of opposition figures.
• Sanam Vakil, Asia Times argued that Iran's Supreme Leader is using the current crisis in the west with Ahmadinejad to improve his own public image.
• Iran Focus reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told European nations to open their doors to the Jews of Israel, so that Israel could be removed from the map of the Middle East.
  

Iran's Nuclear Program.

• Reuters reported that IAEA head El Baradei said Tehran "might not seem to care, but if I say that I am not able to confirm the peaceful nature of that program after three years of intensive work, well, that's a conclusion that's going to reverberate ... around the world."
• Mehrdad Sheibani, Rooz Online reported that the danger, in the present nuclear crisis with the west, is absolutely serious.
• Yahoo News reported that Germany, France and Britain have begun drafting a resolution to submit to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
• Reuters reported that the US and European Union hope to enlist Russian and Chinese support for robust diplomatic steps against Iran, but China said resorting to the Security Council might "complicate the issue."
• Forbes.com reported that Jack Straw said that it is up to Iran to reassure the international community.
• Reuters reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel met President Vladimir Putin on Monday for talks in which she was expected to press him to support European Union and U.S. diplomatic pressure on Iran.
• National Review reported that Kofi Annan worked furiously to undue European and American efforts to bring Iran before the Security Council.
• The Star reported that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Iran had "crossed the threshold" with its recent nuclear actions and that the world must act fast.
• Scotsman reported that Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said that there should be no "rush" to international sanctions on Iran.
• The Financial Times reported that Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, yesterday insisted Tehran's resumption of nuclear research was "irreversible", and announced that Tehran is set to appoint three experienced diplomats as ambassadors to France, Germany and the UK.
  
• Yahoo News reported that Israeli President Moshe Katsav said Israel will not allow "a totalitarian" Iran which exports international terrorism to have a nuclear capability.
• The Times reported that Saudi warned Tehran that its nuclear ambitions could bring disaster to the region.
• The Jerusalem Post reported that when it comes to Iran, the problem is that what they don't know about Iran could fill an encyclopedia
• Eli Lake, The New York Sun reported that many are beginning to look at ways to support an internal regime change in Iran.
• The Times reported that the EU3 will seek an emergency meeting of the IAEA on February 2-3.
• Reuters reported that a meeting of European, Russian, Chinese and U.S. officials in London on Monday did not produce a full consensus.
• BBC News reported on why, as the west presses for punitive international action against Tehran, one of its most difficult tasks will be to win China's support.
• Herald Sun reported that UN nuclear chief Dr Mohamed ElBaradei held a secret meeting with Iran's chief negotiator.
• The Guardian reported that while Javier Solana, the EU foreign affairs chief, said he was "confident" Russia and China will back the referral, both countries expressed serious reservations.
• RIA Novosti reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "I fully support the appeal to resume talks but believe it would be possible only under the generally recognized conditions that assume Iran's observance of the uranium enrichment moratorium."
• Asia Times argued the Russian position on Iran.
• The New York Times reported that Iran on Tuesday proposed a resumption of nuclear talks with the Europeans.
• Iran Press New reported that an Iranian MP, Mohammad-Nabi Roudaki, said: "The American and German view is obnoxious and these two countries are breaking all kinds of rules with regards to their stances."
• Iran Press News reported that Ahmadinejad in an interview regarding the nuclear issue said: "we are the ones who do not trust certain western countries... I have at least 20 proposals and I've only divulged 2 so far. ... We recommend that these western countries cease using their philosophies of Fascism and tyranny... Western countries must learn to live by the rule of law."
• Evelyn Leopold, Reuters argued that Iran can be embarrassed into complying with the west's demands to end nuclear enrichment.
• Con Coughlin, Telegraph warned that Iran 'could go nuclear within three years.'
• Adnkronos International reported that Iran may be much closer than previously thought to possessing significant quantities of enriched uranium, according to a source who has had direct access to the research laboratories of A.Q. Khan.
• The Economist examined what might happen if the IAEA does refer Iran to the UN.
• The Jerusalem Post reported that IDF Chief of Staff, Maj.-Gen. Dan Halutz, said: "We need to be fearful of those who call for the destruction of Israel and of the moment when they possess the means to carry out their wishes."
• Iran Focus reported that, once again, Iran's Supreme Leader vowed that the Islamic Republic would never abandon its nuclear activities.
• Iran Press News reported that threats made on U.S. forces in Iraq if there is any attempt on the part of the U.S. against the Islamic regime.
• Iran Press News reported that under mounting international pressure, the authorities of the Iranian regime are expressing great anxiety.
• United Press International reported that an Iranian opposition group claims that Tehran is planning a nuclear weapons test before the Iranian New Year on March 20, 2006.
• Financial Times reported that Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the UN’s nuclear monitor, has turned down a request by the European Union to issue a far-reaching condemnation of Iran’s nuc­lear program before the next meeting of the IAEA.
• The Financial Times reported that China reiterated its calls for restraint on Thursday in the growing crisis over Iran’s nuclear program.
• Reuters reported that Germany's foreign intelligence agency believes that Iran is at least three or four years away from getting a nuclear weapon.
• The Jerusalem Post reported that Europe and the United States continue to dismiss the possibility of talks with Iran.
• The Financial Times reported that China is now the greatest obstacle to an international consensus on resolving the crisis.
• Iran Focus reported that Kofi Annan urged Iran on Thursday to suspend nuclear activities.
• The Guardian reported that Italy's foreign minister said that Iran's nuclear program is testing the resolve of the international community, and the world needs a unified approach to the escalating diplomatic standoff.
• The Jerusalem Post reported that an Iranian exile group claimed that Tehran has acquired banned nuclear weapons machinery that "are able to simultaneously use pressure and heat to produce uranium spheres for production of nuclear bombs."
• Mehran Riazaty reported that The Germany’s BND Foreign Intelligence Service claimed that Iran will have atomic bomb in next several months.
• The Washington Times argued that it's not likely that military action short of overthrowing the current regime could eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat.
• Louis Charbonneau, Reuters reported that the Russians objected to language in a draft that suggests Iran is a threat to world peace and paves the way for a so-called Chapter Seven resolution at the Security Council.
• IranMania reported that Iran wants China to be involved in possible enrichment of uranium with Russia.
  

Iranian Oil a Weapon?

• Reuters reported that the U.S. Energy Information Administration warned world can't afford to lose Iran's oil.
• The New York Times reported that Ahmadinejad hinted last weekend that Iran might be willing to use the "oil weapon" - that is, curbing oil exports.
• United Press International also reported that Iran's plan for opening an oil bourse in March of this year could threaten the world economy.
  

Iran Preparing for Sanctions.

• Adnkronos International reported that the governor of the Iranian central bank, confirmed reports that Tehran is considering shifting funds deposited in European banks to financial institutions in Asia.
• Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Iran is ready to transfer 8 Billion Dollars from the EU to Asian banks.
• SBS TV reported that a US senator has announced legislation that would urge the international community to impose tough sanctions on Iran.
• The Jerusalem Post reported that Iran announced Friday it has begun pulling its foreign currency accounts out of European banks.
• Reuters reported that an unnamed senior Iranian official said: "Yes, Iran has started withdrawing money from European banks and transferring it to other banks abroad."
• Reuters reported that Iran's decision to withdraw investments from Europe to shield them from U.N. sanctions has unearthed an array of risks for currency investors.
• Reuters reported that Iran, which has said it is shifting its money out European accounts as the threat of U.N. sanctions mounts, will NOT move its currency assets to Asia.
  

The Dissidents.

• Iran Press News reported that a political activist from the town of Oshnoviyeh was returned to prison for another 3-year sentence.
• Iran Press News reported that the Islamic regime sentenced a German hostage to 18 months in prison.
• Robert Mayer, The Publis Pundit reported that a prominent Iranian feminist activist and freedom fighter, Maloos Radnia, passed away yesterday in Tehran.
  

The Unrest inside of Iran.

• Massoud Ansari, Telegraph reported on the Iranian hostages being held by Sunni rebels in Iran and the growing insurgency there.
• SMCCDI reported that several demonstrators were injured or arrested, yesterday, following a brutal attack made by the Islamic regime's militiamen and security agents in a suburb of the Iranian Capital.
• SMCCDI reported that an Islamist judge and his wife were killed in a mysterious accident near Rasht-Khar.
• Barbad Kaveh, Rooz Online reported that protesting Iranian Teachers are demanding rights in the new government budget.
• Reuters reported that an Iranian Sunni militant group said it had killed one of a group of Iranian soldiers it has held hostage.
  

Human Rights/Religious and Press Freedom inside of Iran.

• Kamran Mizani, Rooz Online reported on how various governments are blocking private and independent satellite Iranian broadcasters from beaming into Iran.
• AnoniBlog produced a Persian guide to anonymous blogging.
• Iran Press News reported that "The Servants of Allah Hezbollah of Kurdistan" have issued a bulletin for the physical "elimination" of journalists, civil and human rights activists.
• Human Rights Watch released its 2006 Human Rights Watch World Report.
• Francis Fukuyama, The Wall Street Journal reported on a Web site that comes online today and documents the individual stories of the victims of the Iranian regime.
  

The Iranian Economy.

• Iran Press News reported that more than 780,000 single mothers are receiving government assistance and 1.5 million people are waiting for financial aide.
• Iran Press News reported that director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran announced that trade between the two countries has exceeded $10 billion.
  

Iran's Military.

• Hamed Irani, Rooz Online discussed elements of a confidential report on last months C-130 air crash.
• Israel Insider reported that Iran on Sunday commissioned its second domestically built submarine. Photo.
• Counter Terrorism Blog reminded us that Iran had bought 18 disassembled BM-25 missiles from North Korea which can easily be launched from [a] freighter modified with launch tubes and blast channels.
• Iran Focus reported that Brigadier General Hossein Salami, a senior commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards who once vowed that “no part of the Islamic world is going to be safe and secure for America” was named as the new head of the Guards’ Air Force.
  

Iran and the International community.

• Iran Focus reported that US Vice President Dick Cheney held talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak regarding the crisis over Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program.
• ABC News reported that the Arab world's two major powers urged Vice President Dick Cheney to give negotiations more time in the growing diplomatic conflict over Iran's nuclear program.
• BBC News reported that at least eight Iraqi coastguards have been detained by Iran after a clash on the Shatt al-Arab waterway.
• Iran Press News reported that Hamed Karzai’s trip to Iran was canceled. The reason for the cancellation is the "unfavorable climate and conditions".
• Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday on a two-day official visit.
• The Daily Star explored how the growing rapprochement between Iran and Syria will affect Lebanon.
• Reuters reported that Iran said it will hand over nine Iraqi coastguards who Baghdad says were "kidnapped" by Iranian forces.
• Zaman.com reported that Iran has reduced the amount of natural gas to Turkey, causing a crisis in Turkey.
• KansasCity.com reported that despite Ahmadinejad's meeting with leaders of militant Palestinian groups the State Department said neither Iran nor Syria can proclaim itself a champion of the Palestinian people since Palestinian leader Abbas has called for Damascus to close down the headquarters of these groups.
  

CNN Begs Iran for Forgiveness.

• Yahoo News reported that Iran said it is barring CNN from working in Iran "until further notice" due to its mistranslation of comments made by the president.
• CNN News reported that after their apology Ahmadinejad has asked that a ban on CNN journalists lifted.
  

Can You Believe This?

• Robert Mayer, The Publis Pundit reported that the Alliance of Iranian Women protested Code Pink.
  

US Policy on Iran.

• Michael Hirsh, Newsweek reported that now that the civilized world is now united against Iran. Can the American president exploit the opportunity?
• The New York Times reported that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton last night criticized the Bush administration for its response to Iran's nuclear program.
• Daniel McKivergan, Weekly Standard Blog argued that while Sen. Clinton suddenly talks tough on Iran, she hasn't explained why the Clinton-Gore Administration helped arm Iran with "highly threatening military" equipment.
• The Washington Post reported that at the heart of an informal review of US Iran policy the goal is to change the character of a regime.
• The New York Times reported that the Bush administration and European officials said that they want to avoid causing hardship or more anti-Western resentment in the Iranian public.
• Reuters reported that the State Department is spending millions of dollars to boost democracy in Iran, but added, the U.S. goal was not to overthrow the Iranian government via these grants.
• Vance Serchuk, The Weekly Standadrd argued that there is much the US can do to pressure the Iranian regime to give up its nuclear program.
• Tom Curry, MSNBC reported that Iran's nuclear ambitions could roil America's Elections.
  

Bi-Partisan Unity on Iran in Senate.

• Carol Giacomo, Reuters reported that Republican and Democratic senators said on Sunday the United States may ultimately have to undertake a military strike to deter Iran.
  
• Nedra Pickler, Forbes reported that US Senators said that international penalties against Iran are necessary to contain its nuclear ambitions.
  

Must Read reports.

• 
  
• Eli Lake, The New York Sun reported that many are beginning to look at ways to support an internal regime change in Iran.
• Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post lamented the recent statement by the new chancellor of Germany that the EU3/Iran negotiations were a success because the allies stuck together!
• Frederick W. Stakelbeck, FrontPageMagazine.com examined the threat of a nuclear Iran and its growing alliance with Cuba. A new Cuban missile crisis is coming.
• Cliff May, The Corner reminded us that some who claim to speak for the Iranian people in Washington are in reality defending the Iranian regime.
• Joe Katzman, Winds of Change.net argued why failure to support an internal regime change inside of Iran will likely lead to at least 10 million dead.
  

The Experts.

• Frank J. Gaffney Jr., The Washington Times is one of the few to reminded us that one of Mr. Ahmadinejad's other stated objectives: "a world without America."
• Amir Taheri, Korea Herald reminded the world that Ahmadinejad hopes he will emerge as the unrivalled master of the Islamic republic and the de facto leader of the Muslim world.
• Michael Rubin, Wall Street Journal reported that 80% of the population have lost faith in the Islamic Republic and do not want to live under theocracy any more than do Americans or Europeans.
• Michael Ledeen, The National Review examined why the Iranian people are waiting for the international community to stand with them in their desire to remove the Iranian regime.
• Kenneth R. Timmerman, FrontPageMagazine.com said that when making a revolution, allies matter, arguing that the MEK/MKO are the wrong allies.
  

Photos, cartoons and videos.

• Israel Insider reported that Iran on Sunday commissioned its second domestically built submarine. Photo.
• Mehran Riazaty provided highlights of Ahmadinejad first press conference. Photos.
• Memri.org published a video and transcript of a disturbing interview with a Bahraini women's rights activist regarding Shia Islam and women.
• Informazionecorretta published a cartoon: Ahmadinejad acts like a Nazi.
• Israelnn reported that Ken Timmerman claimed that the US and Israel will destroy Iran's nuclear facilities in less than 10 weeks from now. Audio of the interview.
• Cox & Forkum published a cartoon: Brokeback Diplomacy.
  

And finally, The Quote of the Week.

Ilan Berman, National Review Online reminded us that Ahmadinejad's animus isn't simply directed toward Israel. Ahmadinejad has announced:

"The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of a war of destiny . . . a historic war between the oppressor [Christians] and the world of Islam."

Sunday's Daily Briefing on Iran

DoctorZin reports, 1.22.2005:

Timmerman claims: Iran will be attacked soon.

• Israelnn reported that Ken Timmerman claimed that the US and Israel will destroy Iran's nuclear facilities in less than 10 weeks from now. Audio of the interview.
  

Israeli Defense Minister called on Iranians to remove their President, or else?

• Monsters & Critics reported that Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz warned the Iranian people Saturday that they faced 'destruction' unless they managed to restrain their new President.

More UN Stalling?

• Louis Charbonneau, Reuters reported that the Russians objected to language in a draft that suggests Iran is a threat to world peace and paves the way for a so-called Chapter Seven resolution at the Security Council.
• IranMania reported that Iran wants China to be involved in possible enrichment of uranium with Russia.
  

Iran Responds to Chirac.

• United Press International reported that Iran blasted threats by French President Jacques Chirac on using unconventional weapons to strike against terrorism.

Iran's Presidents Again Suggests Israeli's Move to Europe.

• Iran Focus reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told European nations to open their doors to the Jews of Israel, so that Israel could be removed from the map of the Middle East.

State Department Slams Ahmadinejad.

• KansasCity.com reported that despite Ahmadinejad's meeting with leaders of militant Palestinian groups the State Department said neither Iran nor Syria can proclaim itself a champion of the Palestinian people since Palestinian leader Abbas has called for Damascus to close down the headquarters of these groups.

Iran's Billions Leaving Europe but...

• Reuters reported that Iran, which has said it is shifting its money out European accounts as the threat of U.N. sanctions mounts, will NOT move its currency assets to Asia.

Iran Appoints a New Radical Air Force Commander.

• Iran Focus reported that Brigadier General Hossein Salami, a senior commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards who once vowed that “no part of the Islamic world is going to be safe and secure for America” was named as the new head of the Guards’ Air Force.

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

• Tom Curry, MSNBC reported that Iran's nuclear ambitions could roil America's Elections.
• Stefania Lapenna, The Publis Pundit reported that a prominent Iranian feminist activist and freedom fighter, Vajiheh Cheguini, passed away yesterday in Tehran.
• Robert Mayer, The Publis Pundit reported that the Alliance of Iranian Women protested Code Pink.
• And finally, Cox & Forkum published a cartoon: Brokeback Diplomacy.

"Iran wants China in on Russian uranium plan"

IranMania:

Iran wants China to be involved in possible enrichment of uranium with Russia aimed at ensuring Tehran does not develop nuclear weapons, according to the German weekly Der Spiegel.

In its next edition to appear Monday, the weekly quotes top government sources as saying Iran had told German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier of its willingness to discuss the Russian plan.

"One of the Iranians' conditions is that China also be involved in this joint venture," it adds, AFP reported. READ MORE

The head of Russia's atomic energy agency, Sergei Kiriyenko, said Friday that "Iranian partners", whom he did not name, were due in Russia in the coming days to talk about the plan, which Tehran had earlier officially snubbed.

Russia is building a nuclear power station at Bushehr in Iran, and the United States and European Union suspect that Tehran is using the project to mask a secret bomb-making program, something hotly denied by the Iranian government.

Russia has offered to handle the enrichment of Iran's uranium supplies on its soil as part of an effort to ease fears that the civilian technology could be used for military purposes.

According to Der Spiegel, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had backed the "Russian solution" in telephone calls with US President George W. Bush and United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Moscow's foreign ministry reported Friday that British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw had telephoned his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss the crisis.

On Thursday, Lavrov held talks in Moscow with French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy.

Britain, Germany and France have been leading the EU negotiations with Iran aimed at ensuring its atomic programme does not pose a threat.

Following the collapse of the talks as a result of Iranian insistence on resuming nuclear research, the three asked Wednesday for a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on February 2, with a view to referring Iran to the UN Security Council for action.

However the Western powers are anxious to ensure that any action is not vetoed in the council by Russia or China.

Iran's Ahmadinejad tells Europe to "take back the Jews"

Iran Focus: a pro-MEK website

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told European nations on Friday to open their doors to the Jews of Israel, so that Israel could be removed from the map of the Middle East.

Speaking to Syrian political personalities in Damascus after a meeting with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, Ahmadinejad said that the Europeans should “prove their sincerity in advocating freedom” by allowing the Jews of Israel to resettle in Europe, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported. READ MORE

“Would you open the doors of your own countries to these immigrants in a way that they could travel to any part of Europe they choose?”, Ahmadinejad asked European nations.

The Iranian president complained that the European governments have not given any response to his proposal.

The hard-line president said that no Jew would remain in Israel if he or she had the chance to resettle in Europe.

Ahmadinejad told the Syrian politicians in the meeting that an “alliance against the Zionist regime” comprising Iran, Syria and other Muslim states was being formed “in a natural process”.

Asked by a female participant about the state of women in Islam, the Iranian president said Islam was “the only religion capable of fully materialising all the rights of women”.

Prominent Iranian Freedom Fighter and Feminist Dies

Stefania Lapenna, The Publis Pundit:

A prominent Iranian feminist activist and freedom fighter passed away yesterday in Tehran.

The maverick and combatant woman never abdicated from her principles and humanistic believes, despite all pressures exerted by the Islamic republic regime, and she was always supportive of Iranian students and freedom fighters.

Despite her age and physical conditions, she actively participated in the “July 9, 1999 Students’ Uprising”, beside her courageous daughter “Maloos Radnia known also as Mariam Shansy”. READ MORE

“Vajiheh Cheguini” raised the anger of the brutal “Ali Falhahian” (an Islamist Cleric known for his involvement in the killing of dissidents and a former Ministry of Intelligence) and hopes in the hearts of many arrested students due to her audacity. She was beaten and threatened many times at her home or in front of the doors of the infamous “Tohid Prison”. But just as like as a strong Cedar tree, she always stood tall in face of the enemies of freedom.

Her last moments were spent in wishing for the liberation of Iran and of seeing her exiled daughter.

May she rest in peace!

Softer Iran draft needed to win over Russia-diplomat

Louis Charbonneau, Reuters:

Russia is unlikely to support a draft resolution, a European diplomat said on Saturday. that refers Iran to the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear programme unless it is softened

The so-called EU3 -- Britain, France and Germany -- began circulating the draft resolution, which opens the door to possible U.N. sanctions against Iran, to key members of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the past week.

The IAEA's 35-nation board of governors was expected to vote on the resolution at an emergency meeting scheduled for Feb. 2.

But the EU3 diplomat said the Russians objected to language in the draft that suggests Iran is a threat to world peace and paves the way for a so-called Chapter Seven resolution at the Security Council.

"In order to get the Russians on board we need to get a new draft of the resolution," the diplomat said.

Chapter Seven resolutions are binding under international law and enforceable with sanctions and in some circumstances military action. Non Chapter Seven resolutions are widely viewed as rhetorical. READ MORE

The diplomat said the Americans and British were determined to get a Chapter Seven resolution at the Security Council and that it was unclear whether the Europeans would be willing to soften the language of the draft.

The EU3, which along with the United States suspects Iran is pursuing a nuclear bomb, broke off talks with the Islamic Republic earlier this month after it resumed nuclear fuel research. Tehran says its nuclear programme is for civilian needs only.

Russia and China, permanent members of the Security Council like the United States, France and Britain, have trade interests in Iran and are urging restraint and more diplomacy.

The EU3 has rejected a request by Iran to resume talks, saying it must first halt its atomic fuel research.

Separately, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Saturday that Iran had sent a message to German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier during his trip to Cairo last week offering to revive talks on a Russian proposal to set up a uranium enrichment joint venture.

According to the report, Iran requested that China also be included in the venture, which foresees uranium being enriched for Tehran in Russia.

German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung reiterated in an interview with the weekly Bild am Sonntag that Germany preferred a diplomatic answer to the Iran crisis.

"Together with the United States, we need to do everything to get a diplomatic solution to the Iran question," he said. "To do this we should also bring in Russia and China."

Iran says not planning to move its money to Asia

Reuters:

Iran, which has said it is shifting its money out European accounts as the threat of U.N. sanctions mounts, will not move its currency assets to Asia, a deputy central bank governor said on Saturday.

Tehran has bitter memories of its U.S. assets being frozen shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution and many foreign and domestic media speculated that Iran was eying accounts in Malaysia, Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong.

"Iran at the moment has no plan to transfer its currency accounts to those countries," Mohammad Jafar Mojarrad told the official IRNA news agency, when asked about the reports on Tehran shifting its holdings east.

The Central Bank of Iran confirmed to Reuters that his remarks were a correct representation of policy but declined to comment further. READ MORE

Several economists have speculated Iran could prefer to move its assets to Gulf and other Islamic accounts.

Iran faces referral to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions after failing to allay the world's suspicions it is seeking atomic weapons. Iran says it needs atomic power only for generating electricity.

Central Bank Governor Ebrahim Sheibani said on Wednesday that Iran would repatriate its assets held abroad should that prove to necessary.

It is unclear how much of Iran's copious oil wealth is kept in foreign accounts. The Naftiran Intertrade Company (NICO), the trade and financing arm of the state oil company, is based in Switzerland.

Economists estimate Iran will have earned more than $40 billion in oil earnings by the end of the 12 months to March 2006. Of this, $16 billion goes straight to budgeted government spending.

The rest goes to the Central Bank of Iran which keeps an unknown amount of holdings in foreign accounts.

Iran Faces 'Destruction' - Israel Warns

Martin Walker, Monsters & Critics:

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz warned the Iranian people Saturday that they faced 'destruction' unless they managed to restrain their new President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 'Look at the fate of others who sought the destruction of the Jewish people. They only brought havoc and destruction to the own people,' Mofaz said.

'I know that a large part of the people of Iran do not support his policies but his despicable acts could bring destruction to all of you. You understand what must be done to prevent this,' Mofaz added, directly addressing the Iranian people. READ MORE

It was the toughest statement of Israel`s determination to block Iran`s nuclear ambitions since the stroke that felled Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon two weeks ago, and it came just two days before the next scheduled international inspection of Iran`s nuclear research facilities.

Mofaz`s speech to an international conference of security experts in Herzliya, an exclusive resort just north of Tel Aviv, contained a clear warning that Israel if the United Nations and the international community failed to act, Israel would do so.

'Israel has to be able to defend itself,' Mofaz said. 'This we can do, and we are working on it now.'

The Mofaz speech was intended not only for Iran and an international audience but also for Israeli voters, who go to the polls in March in a general election that seems likely to elect a new government led by the new Kadima party, founded by Sharon, to which Mofaz has rallied along with the acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. With the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran looming heavily over the Israeli elections, Mofaz`s speech was aimed to reassure the voters that Israel`s security would be safe in Kadima`s hands.

Iran`s nuclear development program is 'an existential risk to the entire world, not just Israel,' Mofaz went on, and said that Ahmadinejad led 'an extremist regime that denies the existence of Israel and calls for its obliteration.'

'I believe everyone present here understands the extent to which the combination of an extremist regime with long-range ballistic capability, ongoing effort to obtain nuclear weapons and support in terror constitutes a danger not only to Israel, but to the entire world,' Mofaz added.

Mofaz, formerly chief of staff of Israeli defense forces, told the annual Herzliya Conference on the Israel`s national security that in addition to Tehran`s nuclear ambitions, Iran was directly sponsoring the Hizbollah terrorist organization to the tune of $100 million a year.

'Money is the fuel for terror,' Mofaz said. 'The financial assistance Iran transfers to Hizbollah totals some 100 million dollars each year. Some of these funds are funneled from Hizbollah to Palestinian terror groups. In addition, Iran is the main sponsor of the Islamic Jihad, which carried out most suicide attacks in Israel last year, including the attack in Tel Aviv`s central bus station.'

He added that Islamic Jihad cells in the West Bank received about 10 million dollars from Hizbullah in 2005, compared to just 5 million dollars in 2004.

In his combative speech, Mofaz described last week`s Damascus meeting between Ahmadinejad and Syrian President Bashar Assad as 'the summit of terror,' and called the two leaders 'representatives of the past.'

But Mofaz made it clear that while Israel could act alone of it had to, the Jewish state was also wary of being isolated diplomatically, and would work hard to build regional alliances and cooperate with the international community.

'In the coming years we need to boost the strategic coordination with the U.S. and Europe, as well as with the peaceful countries Egypt and Jordan. Jihad draws near to us, and so we must combine efforts with the countries of the West,' the defense minister said.

'Syria is under international pressure, while we have peace agreements with Arab states and the reality does not allow for the formation of an Arab coalition against Israel. The strength of the peace agreements with Jordan and Egypt contributes to stability in the region, which is why they must continue to be nurtured,' Mofaz concluded.

Firebrand Strategist to Head Iran Guard's Air Force

Iran Focus: a pro-MEK website

A senior commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards who once vowed that “no part of the Islamic world is going to be safe and secure for America” was named as the new head of the Guards’ Air Force.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a decree on Saturday, appointing Brigadier General Hossein Salami as the new commander of the Air Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Another senior Guards commander, Brigadier General Mohammad-Reza Zahedi, was put in charge of the IRGC Ground Forces.

Salami is known as the father of the IRGC’s “asymmetric warfare” doctrine, which he helped to develop in the months preceding the war in Iraq. At the time, Salami was Director of Operations in the IRGC command headquarters.

The military doctrine is based on two components as strategic tools in any military confrontation: the massive use of suicide operations to target U.S. and Western interests around the world, and the use of weapons of mass destruction. READ MORE

On July 4, 2004, General Salami called for the destruction of the United States during a ceremony to recruit suicide bombers that were willing to attack Western and Israeli targets.

“Now, America knows that Muslims with their desires for martyrdom have discovered a new technology and are capable of technological production. This has made [the U.S.] fear them”, Salami was quoted as saying by the state-run news agency ISNA.

In his new position as commander of the IRGC’s Air force, General Salami will be in charge of the country’s ballistic missile development project, a key component of the asymmetric warfare doctrine. Missiles are important as means of delivery for such weapons.

In November, Khamenei had appointed Salami as Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the IRGC.

In the July 2004 speech, Salami had argued for the use of oil as a weapon by Muslim countries to put pressure on the West.

Salami said that because of the strategic location and resources of the Middle East, the United States had a goal of dominating the region, but was faced with the world of Islam.

Referring to suicide attacks against Israel, Salami said, “A young group following the ideology of Imam [Ruhollah] Khomeini and the [1979] Islamic revolution have started a new strategy of struggle and jihad against the Israelis”.

“With martyrdom-seeking operations, the fight against Israel has taken on a religious quality and has spread Islamic values. It was these martyrdom-seeking operations that brought about victory for the Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon”.

He said that the West and Israel were terrified of suicide operations. “Now, no part of the Islamic world is safe and secure for America, thus the U.S. cannot move forward in the region and is currently trying to secure its present location”.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps was founded in the early days of the Islamic revolution in 1979 as an armed force loyal to Iran’s clerical rulers. Its commanders directly report to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and their mission is to “protect and propagate the Islamic revolution”.

The appointments come 12 days after a plane crash in northwest Iran, which killed 11 senior IRGC commanders, including the commander of the IRGC Ground Forces. The crash was a serious blow to the IRGC at a critical time when the force has been given huge powers by the Supreme Leader in the wake of the consolidation of power by the ultra-conservative faction after hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office as president.

Iran Blasts French Threats Against Terror

United Press International:

Iran blasted Saturday threats by French President Jacques Chirac on using unconventional weapons to strike against terrorism. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said these threats were "unacceptable," adding that Chirac had "revealed the veiled intentions of the nuclear powers to use (these weapons) as tools in political games."

The French president said Thursday during a visit to a nuclear base that nuclear weapons may be used against countries that support terrorism. READ MORE

Asefi said he regretted "this vision in confronting the security threats that are common to all in the world."

He added that the "bitter memory of using nuclear weapons in World War II was a disaster to the point that repeating it is completely unacceptable and cannot be justified."

The Iranian official insisted that Chirac's threats only adds to the fears of the world public towards the countries that possess nuclear weapons, saying these countries were responsible in giving safety assurances to the people of the world.

"Human logic, religious ethics and human morals reject the manufacture and use of weapons of mass destruction in the world, regardless of the conditions and justifications," Asefi stressed.

He urged the French president to press the leaders of the other Western nations to fight terrorism by "uprooting poverty, racism and injustice in the world and to remove any pretext to use these methods to fight this ugly trend."

Iran has been at odds with the West over its nuclear program, which it insists is only for peaceful energy purposes and not for manufacturing weapons.

Iran's Ambitions Could Roil America's Elections

Tom Curry, MSNBC:

Is it a 1980 scenario all over again?

A standoff with Iran, oil prices soaring, economic turmoil, a U.S. military action against Iran, the president of the United States is checkmated by the mullahs, the majority party suffers catastrophic losses in the November elections. READ MORE

It was an eerie scene at the Capitol Thursday night as a group of American diplomats who had been held hostage by Iran in 1980 gathered to mark the 25th anniversary of their release and to meet with Sen. George Allen, R- Va., and other members of Congress to thank them for supporting compensation for the hostages.

But the 2006 Iran situation is different from the 1980’s. This time it's not just about oil, but about concerns in the West that Iran is planning to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear program, which it says is for peaceful purposes, shows signs of reaching an ignition point in the months leading up to this year’s House and Senate elections in November.

A pre-emptive U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities or an Iranian test of a nuclear weapon would dramatically change the tenor of the 2006 campaign.

The Iranian regime has removed U.N. seals on its uranium enrichment equipment.

Asked by CNBC host Larry Kudlow Thursday about military action to pre-empt Iran, Vice President Dick Cheney said, "No President should ever take a military option off the table. Let's leave it there.” But he stressed that the Bush administration is trying to solve the problem through diplomatic means.

Tehran’s threats to U.S. ally Israel have increased the sense of anxiety.

Iranian president Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared last October that Israel should be “wiped off the map.”

Jane’s Defence Weekly, the Bible of intelligence and defense industry matters, reported last month that Iran had acquired ballistic missiles from North Korea with a range of at least 2,500 kilometers, or about 1,550 miles, which means they could easily reach Israel.

Its sister publication Jane’s Intelligence Digest said as the New Year began, “We predict that the likelihood of pre-emptive military action by either the U.S. or Israel — or both — will be far higher in 2006.”

Last week President Bush called the development of an Iranian nuclear weapon “unacceptable” and some Democrats in the Senate sound as alarmed as Bush is about the potential for Iran to deploy nuclear weapons.

Missile threat to Israel

Sen. Bill Nelson, D- Fla, who serves on both the Armed Service Committee and the Foreign Relations Committee, said, “If Iran goes nuclear, they have a rocket that has the range from Iran to Israel. If you put a nuke on the top of that rocket, you’ve got an entirely destabilized situation.”

Alluding to potential military strikes, Nelson added, “I would put all options on the table, but the first option, of course, would be an aggressive diplomatic attempt to solve the problem, reaching out to Europe and China and Russia in a way that we’ve not reached out in the past.”

Sen. Carl Levin, D- Mich., the senior Democrat on the Armed Services Committee sounded a similar note Wednesday, saying that Bush “has got to get allies. He’s got to reach out and do everything he can to bring in people who will join us for whatever action at the United Nations…. He’s got to become much more of a multilateralist person and he’s got to mean it.”

Levin said Bush’s management of the Iraq war has hurt his ability to form consensus on Iran.

“He’s been unilateralist consistently. It’s been kind of cocky rhetoric that he’s used — ‘you’re either with us or against us’ — and it has turned off a lot of people whose support we need,” the Michigan Democrat said.

For potential 2008 presidential contenders the Iran issue presents an opportunity to demonstrate their foreign policy expertise and to hint at how they might cope with the Tehran regime.

“What matters at the end of all this is that these maniacal theocrats in Iran can not possess nuclear weapons,” said Allen, who recently returned from a tour of China, India and Pakistan, all three of which have nuclear arsenals.

The Virginia Republican said one of the encouraging signs at the moment was that “with the Europeans there’s complete symmetry of purpose” in trying to block Iran from going nuclear.

China's key role

Allen said Russia would be crucial to opposing Iran and “the other key country in all this as it goes forward — on the path towards sanctions and an embargo — is China. When I was in China, I brought up to the foreign minister the importance of their leadership with the Iranians.”

China also happens to be — along with Japan, Italy and South Korea — one of Iran’s top customers for crude oil. And China is the second largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury securities, with $250 billion in Treasuries, or about six percent of marketable Treasury securities.

Another potential 2008 presidential contender, Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., called Thursday for aggressive economic sanctions against Iran.

As for this year’s Congressional elections, Republican pollster Whit Ayres said, “Anything that heightens the importance of foreign affairs in the current climate helps Republicans.”

Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon could lead to fissionable material falling into terrorists’ hands. “And that helps the party that is trusted more on national security. The fundamental premise is that Republicans are trusted more in the war on terror,” and polling indicates that has not substantially changed, Ayres said.

But Democratic strategist Steve Elmendorf, a veteran of the 2004 Dick Gephardt and John Kerry campaigns, disputed this.

Republicans' lack of credibility?

“Getting voters to focus on Iran versus Iraq versus North Korea — it’s very hard for either party to explain the issue, the differentiation between the parties, and what I, the voter, am supposed to do about it. If I’m a Republican candidate, what am I going to argue about Iran? That I need George Bush to go get WMD in Iran, given how well they did at that in Iraq? The Republicans clearly have a credibility problem in making the case that they can do something in terms of foreign policy in a Middle Eastern country whose name begins with ‘I.’”

Ahmadinejad’s anti-Israel rhetoric may affect an important constituency this fall. Those Jewish voters for whom Israel’s survival is the top priority are watching the Iran crisis carefully.

In the 2004 election, Bush won an estimated 25 percent of self-identified Jewish voters, according to exit poll interviews, the best performance among Jewish voters by a Republican presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan’s 35 percent in 1988. Jewish voters are a significant part of the electorate in New Jersey, Ohio and Florida, all of which have competitive Senate races this November.

But Brandeis University historian Jonathan Sarna, an expert on Jewish voting history, said, "My own guess is that unhappiness with the conduct of the Iraq war and the growing scandals within the Republican Party will have a much greater impact on Jewish (and other) voters than Iran."

If many voters make their decision based on economic issues rather than geostrategic ones, then a U.S. confrontation with Iran would be dangerous for the majority party.

Iran is the world’s fourth largest exporter of crude oil.

An attack on its nuclear facilities could lead to a cut off of oil exports and could spur Tehran to attack shipping in the Strait of Hormuz which connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman.

"The passageway is by far the single most important choke point in the world oil transportation system,” say oil industry analysts Dagobert Brito and Amy Myers Jaffe. One-fifth of the world’s total daily oil demand is carried by tankers through the strait.

“We are in a vulnerable situation. When you have the finance minister of Iran threatening to unleash an oil crisis, you have to take notice,” oil analyst Daniel Yergin said on Kudlow’s program Thursday.

State Dept. to Iran, Syria: Get in Step

Barry Schweid, KansasCity.com:

The State Department, reacting negatively to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's meeting in Damascus with leaders of militant Palestinian groups, said Friday that neither Iran nor Syria can proclaim itself a champion of the Palestinian people.

The claims are "clearly bankrupt and hollow," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, citing Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas as calling for foreign governments to stop their support for Palestinian rejectionist groups.

In fact, McCormack said, Abbas has called for Damascus to close down the headquarters of these groups, including Islamic Jihad. READ MORE

"This is one more example of the Iranian regime being out of step with the trends in the region," McCormack said.

The statement was issued in response to the Iranian president meeting Friday with the leaders of the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Syria, expressing his support a day after 20 people were wounded in Tel Aviv in a suicide attack claimed by Jihad.

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has said Syria planned the attack and Iran funded it. But Iranian and Syrian officials have denied any involvement by their countries.

McCormack said, "The Palestinian people have said what they want is a more peaceful, prosperous, stable future and one in which the live in their own state side by side in peace with Israel."

Brokeback Diplomacy

Cox & Forkum:

Timmerman: Military Attack against Iran Now Imminent

Israelnn: Arutz Sheva - "The Tovia Singer Show"

World renowned investigative reporter and terror expert Kenneth R. Timmerman, author of the bestselling book "Countdown to Crisis: the Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran," and Carl Limbacher, reporter for NewMax.com, reveal that the US and Israel will destroy Iran's nuclear facilities in less than 10 weeks from now.

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Alliance of Iranian Women Protests Code Pink

Robert Mayer, The Publis Pundit:

Below is a statement received from the Alliance of Iranian Women, a truly revolutionary group that opposes the gender apartheid committed by the mullahs in their country. It is a protest against Code Pink’s despicable use of Iranian women demonstrating against the regime in their anti-war ads. Given the huge opposition they’re getting for this heinous act, hopefully it will never happen again.

*****

The Alliance of Iranian Women protests the actions of the Code Pink activists who have distorted the legitimate struggle of Iranian women, for their human rights, to suit their own political and ideological agenda.

The top part of the picture is what the A.N.S.W.E.R coalition/Code pink activists, have photoshopped the top part of the photo (below), out of the original photo, shown in the bottom. First, they have mixed the picture of some western women to the original Iranian women’s picture. Then, not only they have made up slogans, in pink placards, they have even doctored the courageous gaze of the Iranian heroine into a Cheshire cat grin. The real sign in the back, in the original picture below, is calling for equal justice, not the irrelevant Arabic writing. The young woman in center of the photograph is holding a white sheet in her hand that reads: “We are the children of Cyrus, the pioneers of human rights,” not JOIN US. Also the girl, on the right holding the large sign was not a part of this demonstration; she is yet from another photo taken last year at the Tehran University sit-in that was in protest against the Islamic Regime paramilitary stations around the University campus. Her sign in the original picture read: “This space belongs to us”, not HOW MANY LIVES PER GALLON?

All we ask is: if you do not support us do not use us for your own political games and maneuvering.