Week in Review

DoctorZin provides a review of this past week's [2/20/06 -2/26/06] major news events regarding Iran. (The reports are listed in chronological order, not by importance) READ MORE

Iran's Nuclear Program - The IAEA Reports Iran to the UN Security Council.

• The Financial Times reported that Iranian officials would begin talks on Monday in Brussels and Moscow on their country’s nuclear program.
• Reuters reported that a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said: "It is very important we repeat to Mr Mottaki the position of the EU on a range of issues -- nuclear, the Middle East peace process, democracy and human rights."
• IndyStar that French President Jacques Chirac, countered his own Foreign minister saying that only the U.N. nuclear watchdog could draw conclusions about the goal of Iran's nuclear program.
• Reuters reported that the world's nuclear watchdog chief, ElBaradei, warned there may be no choice but to accept limited uranium enrichment by Tehran.
• Sol Sanders, World Tribune.com found it ironic that at the moment Condoleezza Rice attempted to launch a intensified propaganda directed at Iran, she was largely ignored by US Senators and the American media obsessed with Cheney's gun accident.
• Iran Focus reported that a senior Iranian official said Ayatollah Rafsanjani has no say in the Islamic Republic’s nuclear policy.
• The Guardian reported that Iranian negotiators headed home after of an expected two day negotiation session in Moscow.
• The Financial Times reported that Tehran vowed to pursue nuclear research.
• Forbes reported that EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said talks with Iran's foreign minister failed to make progress.
• Adnkronos International Iran's foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki announced on Tuesday. "The phase of negotiations with the EU trio is over."
• ABC News reported that U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said the international coalition applying pressure on Iran to halt its uranium enrichment was working well.
• The Wall Street Journal warned that the West, it seems, is now putting its future security in the hands of Russia and China.
• Monster & Critics reported that anyone still believing Europe only believes in soft power should have witnessed the reception Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki received in Brussels Monday.
• Khaleej Times reported that German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he did not rule out economic sanctions against Iran.
• Times Online reported that Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Russian Duma’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said: "Unfortunately, Iran so far has not shown sufficient good will."
• Malaysia Star reported that Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said: "China hopes Iran will restore suspension of all activities relating to uranium enrichment."
• Rooz Online reported that there seems to be a change in Iran’s approach and strategy to the nuclear issue and talks.
• FOX News reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin said of the Iranians: "The talks are not going easily but we are counting on reaching a positive result."
• The Washington Post reported that Iran's delay on an enrichment deal is seen as a bid to avoid sanctions.
• USA Today reported that Iran has offered the IAEA information on a secret uranium processing project that U.S. intelligence has linked to high explosives and warhead design.
• IranMania reported that the United States accused Iran of engaging in double talk over its controversial nuclear program with deputy State Department spokesman Adam Ereli saying: "There are a lot of statements made by different Iranian officials every day that seem to contradict one another."
• Yahoo News reported that former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer called on the United States to join now-sidelined European negotiations.
• The San Francisco Chronicle reported the Bush administration rejected the suggestion by former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer that the United States join now-sidelined European negotiations.
• Reuters reported that a Chinese vice minister will fly to Tehran to discuss ways of defusing the international crisis.
• 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.
• 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.
• The New York Times reported that Iran has started producing enriched uranium.
• The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia's top nuclear official expressed confidence Saturday that the IAEA still could resolve the international standoff.
• Xinhua reported that France called for a gesture by Iran ahead of the IAEA meeting, March 6th.
  

The Bombing of the Shiite Holy Site in Samarra.

• FOX News reported that Ahmadinejad blamed the United States and Israel for the destruction of a Shiite shrine's golden dome in Iraq.
• Iran Focus reported that the Supreme Commander of IRGC accused the United States, Britain, and Israel of carrying out Wednesday’s bomb attack.
• 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.
  

More on the Regime Attacks on Iran's Sufi's.

• Rooz Online reported that it was discovered that followers of Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi had occupied the Sufi temple and had turned it into a surveillance station to spy and eavesdrop on the grand ayatollahs of Qom, prior to the Sufi's temporary retaking of the temple.
• Ken Timmerman, The Foundation for Democracy in Iran reported that following the violent raid and destruction of the Sufi hosseiniyeh in Qom last week, Grand Ayatollah Montazeri and former Majles speaker Mehdi Karrubi condemned the regime for the attack and called for an apology and compensation to the Sufi community.
• The Financial Times also reported that the Ahmadi-Nejad supporters alleged the Sufis’ building had contained a sound system, satellite communications systems, 2,000 litres of petrol, open and unopened bottles of alcohol, and drugs. Rooz Online disputes this.
• ISN argued that the arrest of some 1,000 Sufi worshippers is due to an increasing popularity of Sufism in Iran.
  

Iranian Leaders On the Offensive.

• Iran Press News reported on the regime sponsored Hezbollah Congress to take place in Iran designed to investigate of the theory of the Holocaust.
• The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran's supreme leader called on Muslim nations to provide annual financial aid to a Hamas-led Palestinian government.
• Ha'aretz reported that Dr. Abasi, an Iranian advisor, warned that if the US launches an attack on Iran, the Islamic republic will retaliate with a military strike on Israel's main nuclear facility.
  

Power Struggle inside of Iran.

• Reuters reported that Iran's parliament slashed the budget for importing gasoline. Iran currently buys in more than 40 percent of the gasoline they use.
• Radio Free Europe is reporting that the Iranian parliament is now questioning Ahmadinejad's choice of provincial governors.
• Rooz Online reported that the hard-line media in Iran has launched a war on the managers of Iranian business enterprises.
• Iran Press News reported that a member of 7th Majlis (Islamic Parliaments Assembly) confessed that influence peddlers have permeated the Islamic Parliaments Assembly.
  

The Iranian regime to launch a new economic threat to the world next month?

• Arab News reported March 20th is the opening day, that some believe, could shake the world economy, when Iran opens a new “bourse” (exchange) on which countries all over the world can buy and sell oil and gas not only for dollars but also for euros.
• IranMania reported that Iran will not reduce its oil exports to use as a weapon in its nuclear row with the West.
  

Rumors of War.

• The Jerusalem Post reported that American officials have been quietly probing whether Georgia, situated just northwest of Iran, will be willing to allow Washington to use its military bases and airfields in the event of a military conflict with Tehran.
• RIA Novosti reported that a senior Georgian diplomat rejected a media report that the United States was considering using military bases in Georgia for a possible attack on Iran.
  

More Calls for an Internal Regime Change in Iran.

• The Peninsula reported that Karen Hughes, US undersecretary of state for public affairs, said: "We are going to support the aspirations of the people of Iran for freedom."
• The Washington Post in an editorial welcomed Condoleezza Rice's plan to fund the pro-democracy efforts in Iran.
• Dr. Jack Wheeler, To The Point News reported on a statement of principles of the a Congress of Nationalities For a Federal Iran.
• The Voice of America reported that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said: "Iran is a country that is going one-hundred-eighty degrees in the other direction in terms of democracy for its own people."
• 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."
  

Iran's Dissidents.

• Iran Press News reported that Elham Afroutan's father is saying his daughter has not committed suicide and spoke to him last Friday, despite government reports to the contrary.
• Iran Press News reported that political prisoner journalist, Mostafa Jowkar who was transferred to a hospital due to complications from heart disease, was returned to Evin prison without proper medical care.
• Iran Press News reported that 11 regime murderers were present at the despicable execution of political prisoner, Hodjat Zamani.
• Iran Press News reported that dissident Akbar Ganji's wife said the regime is trying to keep him off of the public's mind. (Ganji prison sentence is supposed to be completed in less than a month).
• Iran Press News produced a petition asking for the Iranian regime to spare the life of political prisoner Saeed Masouri.
• 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!"
  

The Unrest inside of Iran will increase next month.

• Reuters reported that once again a small bomb shook the Iranian oil city of Ahvaz, a center of much unrest.
• Iran Press News reported that Tehran university students gathered to protest. The students were heard chanting: "Political prisoners must be released" and singing the song: NO, NO, NO which is the new anthem against the Islamic regime.
• The Women of Iran are asking for the international media to join them March 8th in Tehran, for the commemoration of: The International Women's Day in Tehran - to fight for our freedom.
• SMCCDI reported that on Tuesday March 14th, millions of Iranians will defy once again, the Islamic republic regime as they gather in an act of civil disobedience to celebrate the famous "Tchahr Shanbe Soori" (Fire Fiest).
  

Human Rights/Religious and Press Freedom inside of Iran.

• SMCCDI reported that the theocratic regime has increased the wave of repression to boost the existing fear among Iranians, executing two more Iranians.
• Amnesty International has just released a report on Iran, "New government fails to address dire human rights situation"(available here).
• Khaleej Times Online reported that Iran’s judiciary said two people had been sentenced to death for their role in twin bombings in the southwesten city of Ahvaz last month which killed eight people.
• Rooz Online reported on the increasing number of executions of dissidents in Iran whose backgrounds range from political activism to young women, children, and men.
• Amnesty International reported that executions in Iran are continuing at an alarming rate.
  

Iran's Military.

• Iran Press News reported on the recent suicides of Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
  

Iran and the International community.

• The Washington Post reported that Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad reiterated that Iran is playing "a negative role" in Iraq by providing weapons, training and other support to militias and insurgent groups that interfere in Iraqi politics.
• Stratfor reported on Iran's efforts to create strategic partners in South America.
• Arabic News reported that the Syrian and Iranian governments are to convene a high-level meeting in Damascus on Wednesday to discuss what they say is the "White House's offensive."
• Mehran Riazaty examined recent statements by Hakim & Sadr on Iraq and its relations with Iran.
• Yahoo News reported that the Supreme Court ordered an appellate court to reconsider allowing the brother of a victim of Iranian terrorism to collect 2.8 million dollars.
• The Scotsman reported that Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Hamas intends to set up a "second Iran" in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
• Adnkronos International reported that Iran has pledged its "full financial and political support" for the Hamas dominated Palestinian Authority.
• Reuters reported that Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said about Hamas: "We will definitely provide financial aid to this government so that they can stand up against the oppression of America."
• Deutsche Welle reported that German police launched a nationwide raid against a suspected spy ring with links to Iran, who were interested in missile technology.
  

Underreported Stories.

• IRNA reported that another small aircraft, Falcon, with 7-8 passengers aboard crashed at Iran's common border with northern Iraq killing all its passengers. But added there may have been several Israeli's on board.
  

Can you believe this?

• MEMRI TV reported that Iranian TV condemned the cartoon, "Tom and Jerry", as a Jewish conspiracy.
  

Must Read reports.

• Kenneth R. Timmerman, News Max reported that a top Pentagon official, responsible for tracking Saddam Hussein's weapons programs, provided the first-ever account of how the Russians "cleaned up" Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction stockpiles.
• John Patrick Quirk, RealClear Politics examined Iran's defensive strategy.
• Salena Zito, The PittsburgLive.com said we are at a defining moment in our history when Islamic fascists are determined to end Western culture and we must act decisively.
• Ronald D. Asmus, The Washington Post argued that it is time to offer Israel membership in NATO.
• Marvin Olasky, World Magazine provided a review of the threat of nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorist regimes.
• Henry Sokolski, The Wall Street Journal argued that the US must resist making a proposed civilian nuclear cooperation deal the primary theme of future relations with India.
• Lionel Beehner, The Council on Foreign Relations examined Condoleezza Rice's new strategy on Iran.
• The Financial Times reported that the Pentagon was examining the depth and nature of grievances of Iran’s ethnic minorities against the Islamic government.
• Jim Hoagland, The Washington Post examined how Ahmadinejad tough talk and actions have unified the west against him.
• Ze'ev Schiff, Ha'aretz examined: What is spurring Ahmadinejad?
  

The Experts.

• Amir Taheri, The New York Post reviewed two bad ideas for stopping Iran.
• Human Events interviewed Michael Ledeen, who explained why pushing a democratic revolution within Iran is the wisest policy the United States can pursue with Iran.
  

A few petitions.

• Iran Press News reported that the European Jewish Congress is organizing a petition calling for the Iranian President to be made “Persona non grata ad personam,” within European territory.
• Iran Press News produced a petition asking for the Iranian regime to spare the life of political prisioner Saeed Masouri.
• Dr. Etebar, Iranian.ws responded to a petition against a war in Iran, with one of his own.
  

And finally, The Quote of the Week.

Iran Press News reported that two Iranian dissidents, Valiollah Fayz-Mahdavi and Asad Shaqaqi, fearing for their lives, said:

"Within the last 24 hours we have been told that we will kill ourselves either with knives or with cleaning liquid!"

Sunday's Daily Briefing on Iran

DoctorZin reports, 2.26.2006:

Why support a democratic revolution in Iran.

• Human Events interviewed Michael Ledeen, who explained why pushing a democratic revolution within Iran is the wisest policy the United States can pursue with Iran.

Iran crosses the "redline": now producing enriched uranium.

• The New York Times reported that Iran has started producing enriched uranium.

But Russia is encouraged.

• The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia's top nuclear official expressed confidence Saturday that the IAEA still could resolve the international standoff.

And France is asks for "gestures" of goodwill.

• Xinhua reported that France called for a gesture by Iran ahead of the IAEA meeting, March 6th.

Germans crack Iranian spy ring.

• Deutsche Welle reported that German police launched a nationwide raid against a suspected spy ring with links to Iran, who were interested in missile technology.

Iran to attack Israel's nuclear facilities, if attacked?

• Ha'aretz reported that Dr. Abasi, an Iranian advisor, warned that if the US launches an attack on Iran, the Islamic republic will retaliate with a military strike on Israel's main nuclear facility.

Iranian's latest cartoon controversy?

• MEMRI TV reported that Iranian TV condemned the cartoon, "Tom and Jerry", as a Jewish conspiracy.

Ledeen: Push Democratic Revolt in Iran

Human Events:

Michael Ledeen, the Freedom Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, says pushing a democratic revolution within Iran is the wisest policy the United States can pursue to avert the threat posed by that country's pursuit of nuclear weapons.

In fact, Ledeen believes Iran has already developed a nuclear weapon, which, in his view, they will not test until it is deployable on an intermediate-range missile.

Ledeen, who holds a doctorate in history and philosophy from the University of Wisconsin, was a consultant to the National Security Council and the State and Defense Departments during the Reagan Administration. He is also the author of The War Against the Terror Masters (St. Martin's Press). He was interviewed by Human Events Editors Terence P. Jeffrey and Allan H. Ryskind.

Why do you think Iran wants nuclear weapons? READ MORE

Because they want to dominate the world and without nuclear weapons they can’t dominate the world. There is a more specific and recent catalyst for this decision and that was the 1991 Gulf War where they analyzed what had happened to Saddam and they said, "Ah ha. You see, if Saddam had had nuclear weapons the American people wouldn’t have dared do that. We don't want the Americans to push us around so we need nuclear weapons." It's at that point that they elevated that program to a sort of crash status.

Do you think they actually have global hegemonic ambitions?

Well, of course I do. They say that. They say it explicitly. They say: We must prepare to rule the world. Those are their actual words.

Does Ayatollah Khamenei, the head of the Iranian Guardian Council, talk this way?

Yes, Khamenei talks this way. Ahmadinejad talks this way. Rafsanjani talks this way on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, he talks like Sen. [Joe] Biden [D.-Del.].

They want to establish a global Shiite regime?

Yes. I mean that's what they’re all about. It's a messianic religion, and they believe that they are the right ones. That the Sunnis are wrong, that they are right, and that at some point the 12th Imam will emerge from obscurity and lead them to victory.

You say the 1991 Gulf War accelerated their drive to develop nuclear weapons. Part of the time since then we had what at least in the West was reported to be a moderate Iranian President, namely Mohammed Khatami. Is this desire to have a global Shiite regime and to develop nuclear weapons one that's shared by both the moderates and the extremists in Iran?

Yes. Just think about it this way: There is a committee of what anyone would call hardliners in Iran, which purges the list of candidates for the presidency of any person who does not have the confidence of the regime. Khatami was, originally, in terms of people who wanted candidates, something like number 232. The 231 ahead of him were all thrown off the list.

How do we know he was 232?

Because it was reported in the Iranian press.

They had polls?

They have these surprising things. It's an odd sort of dictatorship. Every now and then things filter out that you wouldn't expect to filter out. For example, they conducted their own opinion poll two or three years ago. It was carried out by someone in the information ministry. So, imagine, you're an Iranian and you're walking down the street of, say, Isfahan, and some guy comes up to you with a clipboard and says: "Hi, I'm from your information ministry and I would like to ask you a few questions about how you feel about us." So you know it's a loyalty check. Under those circumstances, 73% of Iranians said they did not like the regime and wanted it changed. So the real number, a friend of mine said, must be 99%. If you get 73% with that method, it's obvious that the real number is higher. So, they know that their people hate them. There's never been any doubt about that.

If the U.S. war to evict Saddam from Kuwait provided an incentive for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon more quickly, why wouldn't the sentiment that a nuclear weapon would defend it against a foreign invasion be something shared by all Iranians, not just the religious right?

Well it may be. A lot of people assert that. But nobody knows that. There is no empirical evidence to support that. The empirical evidence is not clear cut. There are some people who have taken some polls that show most Iranians want it and there are others who have taken polls that show most Iranians don’t want it. I suppose it probably depends on how you ask the question.

If 73% of Iranians don't like the regime, how long can the regime keep all those people down? Even when Hitler was in power the majority supported him, at least for awhile.

That's very important. That is one of the reasons why I think our chances of winning by supporting democratic revolution in Iran are so good, and I like to say: Look, if we could bring down the Soviet Empire by sponsoring democratic revolution there with the active support of maybe 5% to 10% of the people, which is the most we ever had, I think if we could succeed there, how much easier it must be in Iran were we've got 70%, 80%, 90% of the people on our side. What they're waiting to see is active support from us, and they have not had that, or from anybody else. I sometimes joke and say Portugal could do this. Greece could do it. Anybody can do it. There's not a country in the whole Western world that's had the honesty and the integrity and the principled will to do this. And it's really appalling.

So you think the wisest strategy for averting the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran is for the U.S. to promote a democratic revolution from within the country?

Yes. Absolutely. Thomas Friedman rightly calls Iran the one Red State in the Middle East. The Iranian people are very pro-American. They demonstrate every 9-11. They go through the streets with lighted candles mourning the death of Americans. They want to go to Disneyland. They want to be part of the Western world. They have a long history of self-government and democracy, unlike a lot of other Muslim countries in the Middle East, and I believe that when we get there we will find that Islam really is out of business in Iran for at least this generation.

I get on my Ouija Board with Bill Casey, and I say, okay, how do we do it? Casey would say to Bush, look, we actually did it more or less openly. There’s very little of our support that was covert. It went through a lot of American public institutions and some private ones.

But the Soviet Union and its empire were different from Iran. We didn't really undermine the Soviet Union from within, it seems to me. What we did was build up our weapons, challenge them economically, send stuff to Afghanistan and Africa and elsewhere.

Yes, all of that was important. But we also broadcast Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. We supported all the various Helsinki Groups. We supported all kinds of dissidents by name. Every time an American went to the Soviet Union, we demanded the release of various political prisoners. An astonishing number of them came out. The AFL-CIO funneled support to democratic trade union movements, from Solidarity in Poland to similar movements in Czechoslovakia and even in the Soviet Union. That’s what we have to do in Iran.

But I want to get this analogy straight. In the Soviet Union itself, they didn’t have a coup.

No, they had an insurrection.

You’re saying at the very end, they had an insurrection—with Yeltsin?

Yes. If you ask Gorbachev what happened, I'm sure he will tell you by now that he was overthrown. And Yeltsin was able to do it because he had the support of the overwhelming majority of Soviet citizens because they wanted a free system.

The real comparison you're making is to something like Poland and Solidarity and Lech Walesa?

And the Philippines and Ukraine and Georgia and Yugoslavia. How did we get rid of Milosovic?

At the same time we were helping Solidarity undermine the Communists in Poland we were also helping the Mujahideen undermine the Communists in Afghanistan. The result in Poland was a Western-style democracy that helps us in Iraq and the result in Afghanistan was the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. Isn’t there an underlying cultural difference that will make it more difficult for us to do this sort of thing in an Islamic country in the Middle East than it was to do in a county in Europe?

Well, a lot of people believe Arabs aren’t ready for a democracy. I don't think anyone believes that Iranians are not ready for democracy. Iran already had a constitution in 1906 that would serve as a model for the whole region. It's really first class. But there are a lot of people who believe there's a democracy chromosome missing in Arab DNA or some such thing. I don’t believe that. I think they need some education. They need some information. I think there is a lot about the way free societies function that they don’t understand. But I also think there are a lot that understand it quite well. I think our chances are excellent. Look, it took a long time in Western Europe -- presumably over-equipped with democratic chromosomes -- to figure out the rules of democratic society.

So on one level we would have the President using the bully pulpit, and diplomacy, to pressure the Iranians at every turn -- to draw attention to their human rights abuses and so forth.

Yes.

And an another level we should aid Iranian dissidents? What about the $85 million that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asked Congress for last week to support reformers in Iran? Is that a step in the right direction? Is that enough?

It's a small step, years late, but it's certainly a very good step. I hope all that money doesn't end up inside the State Department. It seems that $50 million is going to VOA, which hasn't been particularly vigorous in promoting democracy in Iran, obviously, because the American government -- for which VOA speaks after all -- has been so feckless. It would be better to support a wide range of broadcasters, and to concentrate on radio rather than T.V. I'm told that VOA and "Farda" (which is the Persian language equivalent of the old Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) is going to do less radio and more T.V., which I think is a mistake. Anyone can get radio, most anywhere they are, but you need a dish for satellite T.V., and lots of Iranians don’t have access to that sort of technology.

And on another level we ought to be funneling cash to groups inside Iran that are resisting the regime we’re speaking up against?

Yes, we should be doing it. But we’re not doing it. Rice said in her testimony that we were helping to train Iranian trade union leaders. That would be great, that’s exactly the sort of thing we should do.

Can we do it?

Of course we can do it.

If they are a terrorist regime and they are acting the way Adolph Hitler did, and we know the Guardian Council vetoes any kind of reform, how easy will it be for us to do it, especially when we have Shi’ites in Iraq, Moqtada Sadr, saying he’ll come to the aid of Iran if they’re under any pressure.

Oh dear. Oh dear. Moqtada and his five guys, right? He didn’t do as well as most expected in the Iraqi elections, and most Iraqi Shi’ites hate Iran. Look, I understand all that. But the world -- even in the Middle Eastern tyrannies -- is much more open than people imagine. You can transfer money to anybody anywhere in the world now through this underground money-changer, money-transfer system that operates all over the Islamic world. You can move money. There’s nothing to prevent that from happening. I am in contact and friends of mine are in contact with plenty of dissident Iranians ranging from Ayatollahs to students. Communication is possible. It is sometimes tricky. It is sometimes difficult. It is sometimes interrupted. But it works.

The NSA may be intercepting your e-mails, Michael.

[Laughter.] Well, I'm sure they intercept all my e-mails and I hope they enjoy them.

Dear Ayatollah—

That's fine with me. Although, I don't send him e-mails.

How patient should we be in allowing this kind of strategy to unfold?

It's unpredictable, so it wouldn't be something to put a timeline on. I thought it would take longer in the Soviet Union. I was surprised it happened as quickly as it did in the Soviet Union. I think most of the time we are surprised when democratic revolutions break out.

Madness Watch on Iranian TV: Tom and Jerry

The Middle East Media Research Institute: MEMRI TV

A Jewish Conspiracy to Improve the Image of Mice, because Jews Were Termed "Dirty Mice" in Europe.

On February 19, 2006, Iranian TV channel 4 covered a film seminar that included a lecture by Professor Hasan Bolkhari.(1) In addition to being a member of the Film Council of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Bolkhari is a cultural advisor to the Iranian Education Ministry,(2) and active on behalf of interfaith issues.(3)

The following are excerpts from Bokhari's lecture.

Hasan Bolkhari: There is a cartoon that children like. They like it very much, and so do adults - Tom and Jerry. READ MORE

[...]

Some say that this creation by Walt Disney will be remembered forever. The Jewish Walt Disney Company gained international fame with this cartoon. It is still shown throughout the world. This cartoon maintains its status because of the cute antics of the cat and mouse – especially the mouse.

Some say that the main reason for making this very appealing cartoon was to erase a certain derogatory term that was prevalent in Europe.

[...]

If you study European history, you will see who was the main power to hoard money and wealth, in the 19th century. In most cases, it is the Jews. Perhaps that was one of the reasons which caused Hitler to begin the anti-Semitic trend, and then the extensive propaganda about the crematoria began... Some of this is true. We do not deny all of it.

Watch Schindler's List. Every Jew was forced to wear a yellow star on his clothing. The Jews were degraded and termed "dirty mice." Tom and Jerry was made in order to change the Europeans' perception of mice. One of terms used was "dirty mice."

I'd like to tell you that... It should be noted that mice are very cunning...and dirty.

[...]

No ethnic group or people operates in such a clandestine manner as the Jews.

[...]

Read the history of the Jews in Europe. This ultimately led to Hitler's hatred and resentment. As it turns out, Hitler had behind-the-scene connections with the Protocols [of the Elders of Zion].

Tom and Jerry was made in order to display the exact opposite image. If you happen to watch this cartoon tomorrow, bear in mind the points I have just raised, and watch it from this perspective. The mouse is very clever and smart. Everything he does is so cute. He kicks the poor cat's ass. Yet this cruelty does not make you despise the mouse. He looks so nice, and he is so clever... This is exactly why some say it was meant to erase this image of mice from the minds of European children, and to show that the mouse is not dirty and has these traits.

Unfortunately, we have many such cases in Hollywood shows.

Endnotes: (1) According to the site of the 2005 Iranian Short Film Festival (http://www.shortfilmfest-ir.com/2005/jury/jury_spritual_2005_page-3.htm ), Hasan Bolkhari (b. 1962) holds a Ph.D in Islamic Philosophy and, among other things, teaches philosophy of art at Tabatabaei and Al-Zahra Universities in Iran and is a prolific author of literary and scientific works. According to the site, he is also counselor and member of the Film Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and a member of the IRIB's Approval Group - TV Films and Serials. (2) According to a BBC report (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/middle_east/822312.stm ), Bolkhari is a cultural advisor to the Iranian Education Ministry; according to the IRIB's English-language Radio Islam, he is an Iranian mass media expert (http://www.irib.ir/worldservice/englishRADIO/ISLAM/muslims.htm ). (3) According to the World Catholic Association for Communication, he was the Iranian member of the interfaith jury of the recent 24th Fajr International Film Festival (http://www.wmaker.net/signis_en/index.php?action=article&id_article=294434 ). According to the site, "the Interfaith Jury was set up in 2003 to promote inter-religious dialogue between Christians and Muslims." The jury also included a U.K. and a Belgian juror.

Russian Nuclear Official Urges Iran, IAEA to Resolve Dispute

The Wall Street Journal:

Russia's top nuclear official expressed confidence Saturday that the United Nations atomic watchdog agency still could resolve the international standoff over Iran's program, Russian news agencies reported. Resolution before the International Atomic Energy Agency could avert U.N. Security Council sanctions or the use of force against the Islamic republic.

During a visit to Iran, Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko said resolving the persistent questions about the intent of Iran's nuclear program "within the framework of the IAEA is absolutely realistic," according to Russian news agencies. READ MORE

An Iranian official said Tehran can handle sanctions but believes they won't be imposed, the reports said.

Mr. Kiriyenko, who met Saturday with Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Gholamreza Aghazadeh, stressed that Iran has the right to a peaceful nuclear program but suggested Tehran must act to assure the world it isn't seeking to develop nuclear weapons. "The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is unacceptable and the international community must be certain that it does not occur under any circumstances," ITAR-Tass quoted Mr. Kiriyenko as saying. "It is no doubt possible to satisfy these two demands."

Mr. Kiriyenko made the comments at a news conference with Iranian Economy Minister Davoud Danesh Jafari, who said Tehran is ready for sanctions but doubts they will be imposed, according to Russian news agencies. "Our country has faced such problems in the past, and I don't think the international community will decide to place such pressure on Iran, as everything we are doing is based on international agreements and everything we are doing is lawful," ITAR-Tass quoted him as saying.

The Security Council, which has the power to impose economic and political sanctions, will take up the issue of Iran's nuclear program after the IAEA holds a crucial meeting on the issue on March 6.

Moscow is struggling to persuade Tehran to return to a moratorium on uranium enrichment and agree to shift its enrichment program to Russian territory to ease world concerns it could divert enriched uranium to a weapons program. Such steps would ease pressure on the Security Council -- whose veto-wielding members are the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France -- to punish Tehran and could foster further diplomacy.

Iran has insisted on its right to maintain domestic enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for a nuclear reactor or fissile material for an atomic bomb.

There was no visible progress on the proposal Saturday. Speaking on Iranian state television, Mr. Aghazadeh said only that the issue was discussed. Russian officials said the offer remained on the negotiating table.

On Sunday, Mr. Kiriyenko will visit the nuclear power plant Russia is building for Iran in the Persian Gulf city of Bushehr. A Russian official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said expert-level talks on the uranium-enrichment proposal were being held between the two nations Saturday and would continue Sunday.

Talks in Moscow earlier in the week brought no Iranian agreement to the proposal. The lack of visible progress has raised concerns that Tehran was using the offer to stall for more time.

Russia strongly opposes sanctions against Iran and is eager to avoid an escalation of the dispute pitting Western nations against a country where it has substantial economic and geopolitical interests.

On Friday, China's deputy foreign minister, Lu Guozheng, arrived in Tehran, Iranian state television reported. In Beijing, the Foreign Ministry said Mr. Lu would discuss "how to take measures to avoid further escalating this issue, and how to resolve this issue properly through dialogue and negotiation."

German Police Crack Alleged Missile Spy Ring

Deutsche Welle:

German police launched a nationwide raid against a suspected spy ring. One report links the suspects, who were interested in missile technology, with Iran. The early morning raid on Thursday covered 12 locations across four German states, and netted an unspecified number of suspects, according to Germany's federal prosecutor.

"The accused are suspected of attempting, in the service of a foreign intelligence agency, to obtain parts for delivery systems and conventional weaponry for armed forces," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Police would not say what foreign agency that might have been, but a source told the Reuters news agency that the country involved was Iran. READ MORE

Police were interrogating the suspects after raids in the states of Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland. Two men were arrested in Frankfurt, according to a police spokeswoman.

Second espionage case in a month

Prosecutors charged two German citizens last month with espionage for helping an unidentified intelligence agency acquire "dual-use" missile technology. The term is applied to technology that can be used for both conventional machines and weapons.

Germany, together with France and Great Britain, has been unsuccessfully negotiating for the end of Iran's nuclear program ambitions. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has not ruled out referring Iran to the UN Security Council for sanctions -- a move advocated by the United States.

Russia is currently trying to broker a deal by which Iran would avoid the Security Council, but no longer have control over its uranium-enriching process.

Iranian Advisor: We'll Strike Dimona in Response to U.S. Attack

Yossi Melman, Ha'aretz:

If the United States launches an attack on Iran, the Islamic republic will retaliate with a military strike on Israel's main nuclear facility. Dr. Abasi, an advisor to Iran's Revolutionary Guard, said Tehran would respond to an American attack with strikes on the Dimona nuclear reactor and other strategic Israeli sites such as the port city of Haifa and the Zakhariya area. READ MORE

Haifa is also home to a large concentration of chemical factories and oil refineries.

Zakhariya, located in the Jerusalem hills is - according to foreign reports - home to Israel's Jericho missile base. Both Israeli and international media have published commercial satellite images of the Zakhariya and Dimona sites.

Abasi, a senior lecturer at Tehran University, was quoted in the Roz internet news site, identified with reform circles in Iran.

Iranian affairs experts believe Abasi's statements are part of propaganda battle being wages by all sides - including Israel and Iran - in the lead up to next months United Nations Security Council debate on Iran's nuclear program.

At this stage, the possibility that sanctions will be leveled at Iran are extremely low.

Paris Calls for Teheran Gesture Ahead of IAEA Meeting

Xinhua:

France on Friday called for Iran to break the deadlock on its nuclear activities, ahead of the rapidly approaching meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"We are always waiting for gestures from Iran and we have no positive indications yet," said Jean-Baptiste Matteithe, spokesman at the French Foreign Ministry, who added that the meeting between the Iranians and the Russians has apparently not led to "new or positive elements."

"The meeting of the IAEA's board of governors will take place on March 6. If nothing goes ahead a report that will include an assessment on Iran's nuclear program will be forwarded to the UN Security Council," the spokesman said. READ MORE

Earlier this month, the IAEA referred Iran to the world body which could impose sanctions. But any action has been put off until the report comes out.

Iran Has Started Producing Enriched Uranium

Elaine Sciolino and David E. Sanger, The New York Times:

International nuclear inspectors are expected to report next week that Iran has started producing enriched uranium on a very small scale, indicating that it is striving to solve technological problems in its nuclear program, European officials said today. READ MORE

Only a month after Iran defied Europe and the International Atomic Energy Agency and declared it would restart what it termed research on enrichment, it has put 10 centrifuges into operation at the vast uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, according to the officials.

But it would take a year for more than a thousand machines to produce enough material for one weapon, and it is unclear how long it would take Iran to work out the problems of tying those machines into a "cascade" that could produce bomb-grade fuel.

Both American and European officials said they viewed Iran's action as largely a political statement — an effort, in the words of one senior American official, "to get something in operation in hopes that the world will just get used to it."

At a meeting of the atomic energy agency board on March 6, Bush administration officials plan to cite the move as evidence that Tehran is moving as fast as it can to master the fuel cycle. That would yield the technical knowledge, but not necessarily the capability, to produce highly enriched uranium for a weapon.

The 10 centrifuges, which European officials say are connected in a "mini-cascade," had been sealed as part of a voluntary agreement in November 2004 between Iran and the Europeans that had frozen Iran's nuclear enrichment-related activities. That agreement fell apart last month.

But Iran's efforts to reconstitute its operation are still just beginning. The Institute for Science and International Security, which monitors Iran, noted Thursday that "Iran still needs to repair and operate its first 164-machine test cascade at the Natanz pilot plant," and that it has to overcome considerable hurdles. "One of the reasons Iran spun many centrifuges is that they broke, or did not work as expected."

The new centrifuges have been run in full view of nuclear inspectors, a sign that Iran is attempting to make a political statement by openly challenging the international community.

In Washington on today, President Bush made no reference to the specific development, but once again branded Iran the world's primary sponsor of terrorism, and warned that the United States would never let the country develop nuclear weapons.

"A nontransparent society that is the world's premier state sponsor of terror cannot be allowed to possess the world's most dangerous weapons," he said in a speech defending his strategy in fighting terrorism.

Senior administration officials were quick to latch on to the news of the operating centrifuges as proof that Iran was trying to buy time in producing cascades. But some officials in Europe, including some with direct knowledge of Iran's activities, said the United States was exaggerating the importance of the development.

"On its own, I don't think this is a big deal," said one official in Vienna.

The report next week by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, based in Vienna, is expected to be forwarded to the United Nations Security Council after the agency's 35-nation board meets. Officials in Vienna and Washington say they expect the report to include a number of worrisome developments besides the news about the centrifuges.

It is likely to include information disclosed in an interim agency report last month that concluded there was evidence suggesting links between Iran's ostensibly peaceful nuclear program and its military work on high explosives and missiles. That report referred to a secretive Iranian entity called the Green Salt Project, which worked on uranium processing, high explosives and a missile warhead design.

Olli Heinonen, a deputy director general for the nuclear agency, is heading this weekend to Tehran, where officials have pledged to cooperate more fully with the agency in anticipation of next week's reports.

He and his team will also press longstanding demands, including access to the head of a former military site in Tehran, information about Iran's dealings with an international nuclear black market that supplied it with atomic technology, and information about possible work related to nuclear weapons.

Under pressure from the United States and three European countries that had forged the 2004 agreement with Iran — France, Britain and Germany — the agency's board voted on Feb. 4 to report Iran to the Security Council, a move that reflected increasing suspicion that Iran was determined to develop nuclear weapons.

The board delayed any action in the Security Council, however, until it has the opportunity to review the new report on March 6.

Elaine Sciolino reported from Paris for this article and David E. Sanger from Washington.

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?

The Islamic Regimes nefarious intentions in creating chaos and crisis in Iraq

Iran Press News: Translation by Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi.

On Thursday, afternoon, Feb. 23rd, the Islamic regimes radio, IRIB, in an analysis, attested to planting bombs in holy Shiite areas in Iraq to create chaos and crisis, and to stir up continued trouble between various religious and political factions. A part of the broadcast specified: "The first consequence of the tragic event in Samara will be the intensification of protests in the world of Islam against the continued insults against the holiness of Islam and of course the dimensions of that will be felt in places much farther than Iraq." READ MORE

The radio broadcast also clearly exposed that in fact the Islamic Republic of Iran has every intention of compensating for the defeat of their “candidates” in the last Iraqi elections. The spin began however when the analyst started repeating the same conspiracy theories that were related to the September 11th attacks: "In view of the involvement of Zionist elements in the conspiracy against the sacrosanct turf of the holy prophet of our dear Islam, it is entirely possible that these very elements would be somehow either directly or indirectly responsible for the terrorist attacks on Samara."

In his trip to the province of Chahar-Mahol and Bakhtiari, Ahmadinejad spoke of the Wednesday explosions in Samara; blaming them on the west, he threateningly addressed westerners, saying: "You should know that these actions will not save you from the wrath and might of the ruling Islam.”

He continued: “Our enemies are annoyed with our popularity and scientific accomplishments and for this reason they cannot stand to see the devout and pietistic masses become a role model for the world. Their attack on the holy high prophet's turf and on the sepulcher of the immaculate Imams Hadi and Hasan Asgari are all because they are all against devotion and righteousness. The fact that in their desperation, they do ugly things like violating our holy Islamic alter by bombing the place...this is the western way of making us pay for their godlessness and hatred for devotion.”

Moqtada al-Sadr, the young radical cleric who recently visited Tehran to meet with the authorities of Islamic Republic of Iran, also sent a message to his supporters saying: "The time for revenge has come." Following these comments his armed followers poured into the streets of Baghdad and Basra for demonstrations.

Islamic regime conspiring to systematically exterminate all political prisoners

Iran Press News: Translation by Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi.

The assassins and vicious custodians of the Islamic regime's Gowhardasht prison of Karadj, while planning the mass execution of the political prisoners have plotted to hype the rumor that in fact the prisoners themselves commited suicide. In an attempt to counteract the Islamic regimes criminal plot [and possibly ensure their own survival], several of the political prisoners have requested that human rights activists petition international courts to launch a full scale investigation, in the case of such event.

Valiollah Fayz-Mahdavi and Asad Shaqaqi , both political prisoners at Gowhardasht prison put out a statement divulging the fact that their lives are in danger and that they are being blatantly threatened. The statement reads: "Within the last 24 hours we have been told that we will kill ourselves either with knives or with cleaning liquid!" They continue: "We would like it to be known that we would never take our own lives; if anything happens to us, fellow informed Iranians, please be aware that it should be the warden of Gowhardasht, Hadj Kazem and the director of the bureau of prisons who should be directly indicted."

Influence peddlers have permeated the Islamic Parliaments Assembly

Iran Press News: Translation by Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi.

Abed Fattahi, the member of 7th Majlis (Islamic Parliaments Assembly) from Orumiyeh confessed that influence peddlers have permeated the Islamic Parlimanets Assembly; these influence peddlers either take peoples money in order to act as their ‘proxy’ with the members of Parliament or are involved in some other kind of manipulation or coercion. READ MORE

In his interview with the parlimentarian reporter from the regime-run news agency, ILNA, Fattahi condemned this and said: "These types of wheeler-dealers have consumed Iran at the moment and they have even begun to form themselves into a social class which is extremely dangerous. These individucals have managed to implicate themsleves into all social and vocational layers and all professions and organizations, including the Majlis have been permeated by them; one can see them hanging around, outside the Majlis, taking money from people...

He added: "This stems from the lack of consistancy in the job market, the lack of clarity in solutions to bridge the gap between the people and the authorities, failure in governance, profiteering and bribery. Unfortunately in our society the power of the Nota Bene and addenda is more than the actual article of law; the limbs have become more powerful than the trunk and sadly influence peddling has run such deep roots in our society that even I, who am a member of parliament cannot do anything without the protection of these 'operators' who laugh at us MPs, telling us how much easier they can move things along for us. They have become so powerful that they are in fact entirely capable of getting some very important things done and of course, they are the ones who stand to benefit most of all."

Iran and the Blast in Iraq

Kamangir (Archer):

Less than twelve years ago a blast in this shrine, located in Iran, happenned. A terrorist organization first claimed the responsibility, but then footprints of Iranian intelligence was found. the whole story was never fully surfaced.

Imam Reza (see) is the eighth Imam in Shia Islam and his shrine is located in Mashhad (see), the capital city of Khorasan, a province in northern east Iran. On June, 1994, a massive blast destroyed portions of the shrine, killing twenty six people (unfortunately, I can't find any picture of the event). The explosion happened in the Ashura decade, the time in each year Shias mourn for Imam Hossein's martyrdom (see). People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI), a terrorist Iranian organization based in Iraq at the time, accepted the responsibility. The guy assumed to be responsible for the blast was killed in a shooting.

However, after Saeed Emmami, a high ranking official in Iranian Intelligence, was arrested and charged with assassinating opposition figures, he also confessed that his group had links to the the bombers. This event, like many others in recent Iran's history, was never fully investigated and clarified.

Iran is having a very troubled relationship with the west. And just out of nowhere, a group of gunmen blast a shrine, causing different religious groups in Iraq to fight together. A "good" way to make Americans busy in Iraq. Or maybe as some say "to tell them, Hey! do not mess with us!" Is there any doubt that Iran would be amongst the first parties accused for being behind this (see)?

Many Sunnis see Iran behind Iraq shrine blast

Iran Focus: a pro-MEK website

The London-based Arabic-language website Elaph carried a report suggesting that Iran’s notorious Ministry of Intelligence and Security may have been behind Wednesday’s bombing of a holy Shiite shrine in the city of Samarra, which destroyed the golden dome of the Askariyain shrine, the resting place of two revered Shiite Imams. READ MORE

On Friday, several prominent Sunni Muslim groups in Iraq pointed the finger at Iran for being involved in attacks on more than 150 Sunni mosques across Iraq in an attempt to flare sectarian divisions in the country.

The deputy governor of Saladin Province, where Samarra is situated, announced that the attackers were wearing Iraqi Interior Ministry uniforms. Iraq’s Interior Minister, a senior official in the Iran-backed Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, has been stripped of his authority after United States forces discovered that he was running secret torture chambers in collusion with Iran’s intelligence ministry.

The Iraqi National Accord party, headed by former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite, accused the pro-Iran Shiite coalition United Iraqi Alliance and the followers of the firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr of carrying out revenge attacks on Sunni mosques during which over 100 people were left dead.

The Iraqi Islamic Party had a similar position. The party’s secretary general Tareq al-Hashemi told the al-Arabia satellite channel on Thursday, “The Shiite coalition and the followers of Sadr as well as their foreign supporters are behind this aggression”.

Al-Hashemi announced that following the recent surge in anti-Sunni violence Sunni groups would refuse to meet and hold talks with leaders of the Shiite coalition over the composition of the future government of Iraq.

He criticised the stance of the present government and current Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari over the disruptions as “irresponsible” and accused them of “not acting responsibly to control the situation”.

In a separate interview on the popular satellite channel Al-Jazeera, the Iraqi Islamic Party chief said that some 700 “trouble-makers” along with police attacked the party’s office in the southern city of Basra. He accused the police of allowing the crowd to burn their office and declared them to be responsible for the attack.

Iran: Qom Authorities Crack Down On Sufis

Golnaz Esfandiari, ISN:

Human rights activists have expressed concern over the arrest on 13 February of some 1,000 Sufi worshippers in the Iranian holy city of Qom. The arrests followed clashes between the police and members of a Sufi group over the closure of a house of worship used by the Sufi Muslims. Observers say the scale and violence of the crackdown on the Sufis is unprecedented in the Islamic Republic. Officials say the Sufis had illegally turned a residential building into a center of worship and had refused to evacuate it. They have also said that some of the dervishes were armed. But representatives of the dervishes deny the charges and say they are being targeted due to an increasing popularity of Sufism.

READ MORE

In what human rights observers say is unprecedented, authorities in the city of Qom have arrested more than 1,000 followers of the mystical Sufi tradition of Islam.

The Iranian government had been showing signs of increasing antipathy towards Iran's Sufi community, but experts say the scale and violence of the clashes on 13 November is unheard of.

The deputy governor of Qom, Ahmad Hajizadeh, said 1,200 worshippers -- also known as dervishes -- were arrested as police sought to close a Sufi house of worship.

Hajizadeh said 100 people, including more than 30 police officers, were injured in the clashes.

"More than before, people are running away from a totalitarian interpretation of the religion."

Qom officials say the Sufis had illegally turned a presidential building into a center of worship and had refused to leave it.

Some of the dervishes were armed, they add.

Representatives of the dervishes deny the charges and say they are being targeted due to the increasing popularity of Sufism.

Figures produced by sources close to the Sufi groups and human rights activists also differ from official accounts. They put the number of the arrests at 2,000 and say that 350 people were injured.

Following the clashes, the authorities demolished the house of worship as well as the homes of two leaders of the group.

Clash Between 'Dervishes And Fanatics' Entering A New Phase?

Sufism is based on the pursuit of mystical truth and Sufis believe that mystical practices involving dance, music, and the recitation of Allah's divine names can give them direct perception of God.

Although Sufi Muslims strictly observe Islamic practices and beliefs, some conservative Muslim clerics see it as a danger to Islam. Some even argue that Sufism is a deviation of Islam.

In Iran, there have been always some tensions between Sufism and more orthodox traditions of Islam.

However, observers say these tensions have worsened since the establishment of an Islamic republic, some 27 years ago, and state tolerance for Sufi groups has diminished.

Never before, though, has there been an attack as strong as seen this week, says Abdol-Karim Lahidji, vice president of the Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights.

"Unfortunately under the years of the rule of the Islamic government we have seen limitations on non-Muslims -- above all, Baha'is, Jews, and also Christians -- and on Sufi groups, and their meetings have been disrupted," says Lahidji, but "it is unprecedented in the modern history of Iran that a Sufi group should be treated" as it was in Qom.

Seyed Mostafa Azmayesh, a Paris-based scholar who specializes in Sufism, says that the Qom clashes mark "a new phase…between dervishes and fanatics -- a phase of violent encounter -- because until now only the leaders of [Sufi] groups were under pressure. Now, though, there is a confrontation with ordinary people who are facing pressure merely because they are dervishes."
Qom Not A New Target

The Qom worshippers belong to the Nematollahi Gonabadi order of Sufism, one of the largest Sufi groups in Iran and a strand of Sufism that Azmayesh represents outside Iran.

Azmayesh says that pressure on Sufis -- and "especially on the Nematollahi Gonabadi order" -- has increased "a lot" since the hard-liner Mahmud Ahamdinejad succeeded Hojatoleslam Mohammad Khatami as Iran's president in June 2005.

"Now unfortunately, when the pressure groups and fanatics want to repress the Sufis, those who enforce the laws are not stopping them," says Azamayesh.

Several anti-Sufi books have been published in Iran over the past year and several clerics have also harshly condemned Sufism, Azamayesh says, noting that the recent clashes in Qom erupted after a speech by a cleric, who blasted Sufism and called for restrictions on the Sufi community.

Iran's hard-line daily "Kayhan" on 14 February quoted senior clerics in Qom as saying that Sufism should be eradicated in the city, while the Reuters news agency reported that in September one of Iran's hard-line clerics, Grand Ayatollah Hussein Nuri-Hamedani, called for a clampdown on Sufis in Qom.

Qom is considered to be one of the centers of Shi'a Islam.

The governor of Qom, Abbas Mohtaj, has reportedly accused the dervishes of having links to foreign countries.

However, Azmayesh believes that Sufis are being targeted because of their "more open interpretation of Islam" and also because Sufism is picking up more followers.

"More than before, people are running away from a totalitarian interpretation of the religion, they are having doubts, and they have lost faith in the work of those who consider themselves custodians of religion," he maintains. "By contrast, they feel very close to the Sufi teachings and its customs, which are based on love."

Azmayesh says there is currently an "inverse trend" in Iran. "As mosques empty," he says, "[Sufi houses of worship] are expanding and being filled."

Iranian officials have said that the arrested dervishes will be interrogated and those who were not among the "main elements and instigators" will gradually be released. Some have already been freed, many of them women.