Iran's Growing Power
contemporary life in the Islamic Republic.
Postcards from Iran: Surfing the net
Iranian Corruption & Double Standards: Wrapped in red tape
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Strange ? - Iranian Arms Transfers Help Turn Bosnia into Militant Islamic Base
IRAN & GROWING MIDDLE EAST CRISIS - SUMMER 2006
LEBANESE LEGISLATOR REGRETS IRAN AND SYRIA USING HIS COUNTRY. Saad Hariri, leader of the Future Trend bloc in the Lebanese parliament and the son of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, says the current conflict in his country is "not Lebanese," the British "Al-Hayah" newspaper reported on July 26. The battle, he said, "was brought to the Lebanese arena by Syria and Iran for the sake of their interests." "Israel is our enemy," Hariri continued, "and we have fought and resisted before any Arab state and before any Persian state." If Syria wants to fight Israel it should open a front on the Golan Heights, Hariri recommended.
Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said in a July 20 interview with "Corrierre della Serra, "Hizballah answers to the political agendas of Tehran and Damascus." On the same day, however, Siniora's office said he was misquoted and his comments were taken out of context, AP reported. Druze leader and Lebanese parliamentarian Walid Jumblatt condemned violations of his country's sovereignty, France's "Liberation" newspaper reported on July 19. He added that Hizballah's "entire military infrastructure is the product of its sponsors, Syria and Iran." Under these circumstances, he continued, one cannot believe the Hizballah leadership because it is being "exploited, manipulated."
Chibli Mallat, a law professor at Lebanon's St. Joseph University and a presidential candidate, commented in "The Daily Star" on July 14 that "the Syrian and Iranian leaderships have been stoking the flames in Lebanon to deflect domestic pressures."
President Emil Lahud met with Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Reza Sheibani on July 19 in Beirut and expressed gratitude for the Islamic Republic's support, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
(Bill Samii)
'WE LOVE MARTYRDOM.' Groups of Iranian volunteers left
Tehran for Lebanon recently, despite government discouragement and denials of responsibility. The country's top clerics, meanwhile, have been unanimous in their support for Hizballah and in encouraging financial contributions and other forms of support for the organization.
"We love martyrdom and are ready to go to Lebanon and Palestine with our bare hands to help the resistance, be it in relief work or even martyrdom," a young man said as he prepared to depart Tehran for Lebanon on July 26, the official Iranian Al-Alam television reported.
The man was reportedly part of a group of volunteers organized by the Pro-Justice Student Movement. The Al-Alam correspondent noted that the Turkish authorities might not let the volunteers -- "They call themselves living martyrs," he said -- enter their country on the way to Syria. There were approximately 60 volunteers of all ages, AP reported on July 27, and they will join 200 who preceded them.
Volunteers Stopped At Border
The Pro-Justice Student Movement and another organization, the Commemoration Headquarters for the Martyrs of Islam's World Movement, had announced on July 15 and 16 that they would be sending volunteers to Lebanon. But General Mohammad Hejazi, commander of the paramilitary Basij, said dispatching suicide bombers to Lebanon might be well-intentioned but it does not help Iran or Hizballah. Hejazi also denied an official connection with the volunteers.
This caravan of volunteers did not get far, as the authorities stopped them at the Bazargan border crossing near the eastern Turkish town of Gurbulak on July 28, AP and the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported. Spokesman Ali Komeili explained, "The authorities said we could not pass through the border as we were wearing a kind of uniform." The students began a sit-in.
Although these volunteer actions do not have an official imprimatur, Iran is openly dispatching other forms of aid to Lebanon. Iranian Deputy Health Minister Moayed Alavian led a delegation to Beirut on July 21, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported. Alavian said Iran will provide medical care and pharmaceuticals and added that two planeloads of aid have arrived in Damascus and are being sent to Lebanon.
The fifth consignment of Iranian aid destined for Lebanon arrived in Damascus on July 23, IRNA reported. The two aircraft carrying medicine and medical equipment from the Red Crescent Society came on the heels of four other aid shipments, Iranian Charge d'Affaires in Syria Ghazanfar Roknabadi said. "This is apart from our political support for the Islamic resistance movement against the assault of the Israeli regime," Roknabadi added. He described the provision of ambulances and food, and he said more ambulances, food, and medicine will be sent to Lebanon.
Islamic Clerical Encouragement for Death
Iran's leading clerics are encouraging their countrymen to support Hizballah financially and in other ways. A joint statement from four of Iran's top clerics -- Grand Ayatollahs Nasser Makarem-Shirazi, Mohammad Fazel-Lankarani, Lutfollah Safi-Golpaygani, and Javad Aqa-yi Tabrizi -- said they will allocate a percentage of the funds they receive to the Lebanese people, Mehr News Agency reported on July 23. Makarem-Shirazi and Nuri-Hamedani added that other religious funds could be used to help Palestinians and Lebanese. Nuri-Hamedani explained: "This would be permitted as a means of strengthening the oppressed people of Lebanon, the Hizballah resistance front, as well as the oppressed Palestinians who are engaged in an Islamic jihad to defend themselves against diabolical and arrogant powers."
Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ezzedin Zanjani condemned on July 25 the Israeli activities in Lebanon and Palestine, provincial television reported. He called on Muslims and Islamic governments to remain united and to assist "the pious and heroic Lebanese combatants." Also in Mashhad on July 25, the Khorasan-i Razavi branch of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee said it is ready to collect people's contributions for the Lebanese and Palestinians.
Ayatollah Ebrahim Amini told officials of the Iranian national airline in Tehran on July 27 that Israeli actions in Lebanon and Palestine resemble the crusades, ISNA reported. He said the United States is allied with European governments in an effort to destroy Islam. "What they want is not limited to the destruction of Hizballah," Amini said. "They want to destroy all Islamic nations and governments." Amini denounced countries that cooperate with Israel.
Islamic Culture and Communications Organization head Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Taskhiri told the clerical community on July 27 that the Islamic world is waiting for the clergy to provide Hizballah with "all-out support," ISNA reported. He said the clerics must inform people using any means at their disposal, from the pulpits to the print and broadcast media.
Grand Ayatollah Hussein Nuri-Hamedani complained on July 27 that some Egyptian and Saudi clerics have encouraged "the global arrogance" with their religious decrees, ISNA reported. Sheikh Abdullah bin Jabreen, a Saudi Wahhabi, issued a fatwa against Hizballah and announced it is illegal for Muslims to support or pray for it, UPI reported on July 21. The governments in Cairo and Riyadh have called on Syria to limit its support for Hizballah. Now that Hizballah has stood up to Israel, Nuri-Hamedani said, Muslims must support the organization.
In The Basement Or In Damascus?
Iranian government spokesman Gholam Hussein Elham said on July 24 that the Islamic Republic will not send military personnel to Lebanon to participate in the current conflict, IRNA reported.
According to U.S. observers, Iranians are already there. Ambassador Henry Crumpton, the State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism, said on July 25, "I am confident that Iranian operatives are inside Lebanon right now with Hizballah," Reuters reported. Crumpton referred to Iran as "the paymaster" that spent "hundreds of millions of dollars" on arms and other forms of support for Hizballah.
Iran has greater influence over Hizballah than Syria does, Crumpton said, but it does not control the group. Iran is "clearly directing a lot of Hizballah actions," he said, and "Hizballah asks their permission to do things, especially if it has broader international implications."
If this is an accurate assessment, then it may explain Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani's arrival in Damascus late on July 26. Mehr News Agency and Reuters reported he is to discuss regional developments with Syrian officials. Larijani also is expected to meet with Hizballah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, "Ha'aretz" and "The Jerusalem Post" reported on July 27, citing Kuwait's daily "Al-Seyassah." Nasrallah reportedly made the hazardous overland trip to Damascus in civilian -- rather than in clerical -- clothing.
There also were Israeli reports that Nasrallah was sheltering in the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. The Israeli "Ma'ariv" newspaper reported on July 26 that according to anonymous intelligence officials, Nasrallah is hiding in the embassy basement, which has become his "refuge and operations room." Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi told reporters in Tehran on July 26 that there is no truth to this "Israeli lie," IRNA reported. (Bill Samii)
FEELING LEFT OUT IN TEHRAN.
Speaking in Rome on July 26 after a conference on
Lebanon, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, "It is important that we work with the countries of the region to find a solution, and that should also include Iran and Syria," RFE/RL reported. However, neither country was represented at the conference. Participants were Egypt, France, Italy, Jordan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the U.K., the United States, the UN, and the World Bank, Reuters reported. Also in attendance were Canada, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Spain, and Turkey; the EU was represented by Javier Solana and current EU chair Finland; and the Vatican was there as an observer. Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and four cabinet members represented Lebanon.
Iranian officials predicted that excluding them and the Syrians would be a mistake. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi said, "They should have invited all the countries of the region, including Syria and Iran, if they want peace," The Guardian" reported on July 26.
(Bill Samii)
AHMADINEJAD WARNS THAT A MIDDLE EAST STORM IS BREWING.
During his July 25 visit to Dushanbe, Mahmud Ahmadinejad said the Israeli attack on Lebanon will not yield positive results and could cause bigger problems, Radio Farda reported. "To attack another country in this way will not solve anything, instead it will make the problems more complicated," he said. "Those who think that by oppressing a nation they can create a foothold for themselves are making a big mistake." He appeared to threaten that the conflict will escalate, saying, "There is an expression in Persian: 'He who raises the wind will get a hurricane.' And this hurricane is just round the corner in the Middle East and it will be harsh and destructive for the enemies of humanity."
At the Ahvaz city hall on July 25, meanwhile, Ali Zu'aytir, Hizballah's representative in Iran, gave a speech in which he said, "In order to implement its satanic design, the world arrogance has placed the protection of the Zionist regime's interests atop its Middle East agenda," Khuzestan Provincial television reported. Zu'aytir said "the Zionists" want to disarm Hizballah. "In the first place, our [Lebanese] Hizballah intends to solve the problems which Lebanon is facing and we cannot say if resistance will end or not," he added. "We shall resist as long as our problems with that usurper regime exist."
(Bill Samii)
AHMADINEJAD VISITS TURKMENISTAN AND TAJIKISTAN.
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad met with Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov in Ashgabat on July 24 for talks centered on the expansion of mutual cooperation, IRNA reported. Ahmadinejad called ties between the two countries "very good." For his part, Niyazov said that the talks were "successful and fruitful," ITAR-TASS reported. IRNA reported that bilateral trade volume was $1.2 billion in 2005 and $600 million in the first half of 2006.
Ahmadinejad held a second round of talks with Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov in Ashgabat on July 25, turkmenistan.ru reported. The discussion focused on energy issues, with the two sides agreeing to form a joint task force to work out proposals in a month's time on hydrocarbon shipments. Iran, which is set to buy 8 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Turkmenistan in 2006, plans to buy 14 billion cubic meters in 2007. During Ahmadinejad's visit, the two sides also signed seven cooperation agreements, MNA reported.
Ahmadinejad met with Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov in Dushanbe on July 25 for talks on bilateral relations and regional issues, IRNA and RFE/RL's Tajik Service reported. Ministers from the two countries signed five memoranda of understanding and cooperation agreements in the course of the visit.
Ahmadinejad and Rakhmonov attended a ceremony on July 26 to mark the formal opening of the Anzab tunnel, IRNA reported. The tunnel, which is located 80 kilometers outside Dushanbe, links the Tajik capital with roads leading north. Ahmadinejad called the tunnel project a turning point in Iranian-Tajik relations. "The implementation of this big dream is evidence of the two nations' desire to boost their relations and start larger development projects," Tajik television quoted him as saying. According to IRNA, Iran provided $21 million in financing for the $40 million project.
At a press conference on July 26 in Dushanbe with his Tajik counterpart President Rakhmonov, President Ahmadinejad proposed the establishment of a Persian-language television network for Afghan, Iranian, and Tajik people, IRNA reported on July 26. Ahmadinejad said that the Tajik side has "welcomed" the television initiative "so it should be discussed with Afghan authorities." Iran currently broadcasts programs to Afghanistan in both Dari (Afghan Persian) and in Pashto. It is not clear if the proposed television network would be in Iranian Persian or it would also include segments in Dari or Tajik. While Dari is one of the official languages of Afghanistan, traditionally Afghan authorities have viewed Iranian cultural influences, including in the field of language, with suspicion. (Daniel Kimmage, Amin Tarzi)
STONING SENTENCES under ISLAM RESUME.
Iranian courts have resumed handing down stoning sentences for women after a three-and-a-half year lull, Radio Farda reported on July 27 (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," 23 December 2002).
Ashraf Kalhori, 37, who has already served five years in prison for adultery and her role in the murder of her husband, has now been sentenced to death by stoning; the sentence is supposed to be carried out in two weeks. Kalhori's lawyer in Tehran, Ms. Shadi Sadr, told Radio Farda that she has filed an appeal in an effort to change the verdict through the judicial system. Kalhori has also written a letter to the chief justice in Tehran, Sadr said, asking for clemency. Another Tehran lawyer, Farideh Ghayrat, told Radio Farda that death by stoning is legal under Iran's penal code, but that women's rights lawyers in Iran are questioning whether it is justified under Islamic law. (Bill Samii)
COLLEGE CAMPUS in IRAN: STUDENT ACTIVIST BEGINS HUNGER STRIKE.
Khalil Bahramian, the lawyer for a student activist who has been imprisoned for almost seven years, said on July 25 that he is no longer allowed to receive visitors, ILNA reported. The lawyer said he went to visit his client, Akbar Mohammadi, at Evin prison on July 24, and the authorities said because Mohammadi is on a hunger strike visitors are barred. Bahramian added that Akbar and his brother, Manuchehr, are in poor health. (Bill Samii)
LAWYER SENTENCED TO PRISON.
The Tehran [Islamic] Revolutionary Court sentenced attorney Abdolfattah Soltani to five years in prison and also barred him from practicing as a lawyer or holding public office for an additional five years, ILNA reported. Soltani was the attorney for several people accused of spying on the Iranian nuclear program, and he was imprisoned for seven months before being released in March. Soltani told ILNA he was acquitted of espionage but found guilty of revealing classified documents and of antigovernment propaganda.
(Bill Samii)
EDITOR'S JAIL SENTENCE LIFTED.
The Tehran Penal Court initially sentenced Abdul Rasul Vesal, the former editor of "Iran" newspaper, to four months in prison for the publication of an offensive cartoon and fined him another 2 million rials ($225) for publishing false information, fardanews.com reported on July 17. However, ILNA reported on July 17 that payment of the fine was in lieu of the prison sentence. The cartoon allegedly insulted
teachers, "Sharq" reported on July 5. (Bill Samii)
ISFAHAN FACTORY WORKERS ON STRIKE. Employees of a knitting and weaving factory in Isfahan continued demonstrating for a third day outside the legislature in Tehran on July 25, ILNA reported. Workers at the Simin-i No factory say they are owed five months of wages and, furthermore, management is ignoring them. They say Isfahan parliamentary representative Hassan Kamran and Tehran's Alireza Mahjub are following up on the case.
(Bill Samii)
SOUTHWESTERN BOMBERS SENTENCED TO DEATH. The Ahvaz Revolutionary Court on July 25 passed sentences on 19 people for their alleged involvement in bombings in Khuzestan Province, ILNA reported. Attorney Javad Tariri, who represented two people, said 10 people have been sentenced to death for being "at war with God" (mohareb) and endangering national security. Three others have been sentenced to internal exile for 10, 15, and 20 years on identical charges. Another three defendants received five-year sentences for membership in an illegal group that seeks to undermine national security; one received five years for carrying explosives; and one received a one-year sentence for propagating against the system. The 19th defendant was acquitted, Tariri said.
Many ethnic Arabs live in the southwestern province, which borders Iraq. In the past, demonstrators in the southwest have objected to the quantity of Arabic-language broadcasts by state media, and they have also objected to the overall quality of the broadcasts. A ceremony marking the increase in Arabic programs on Khuzestan Province television took place on July 15, the station reported. Mr. Assefi, the Khuzestan Province TV station's manager, said difficulties with the signal in the northern part of the province have been resolved. He added that station personnel are serious about improving program quality and are conducting related audience research.
(Bill Samii)
SECURITY MEASURES CONTINUE IN EASTERN IRAN. Colonel Mohammad Javad Ithna-Ashari said on July 18 that security personnel operating out of the Fath military base in Sistan va Baluchistan Province have freed 35 hostages and arrested five of their captors, IRNA reported. This operation broke up a gang responsible for narcotics smuggling and people-trafficking, in addition to kidnappings, IRNA reported.
The commander of Iran's national police force, Brigadier General Ismail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, said in the Luristan Province city of Khoramabad on July 26 that 40 kilometers of Iran's eastern border has been sealed and a total of 400 kilometers will have been sealed by December, Fars News Agency. He explained that this is being done through physical impediments as well as through the use of human resources and electronic and aerial surveillance. Successful border control will contribute to interdicting narcotics traffickers and fuel smugglers, he said. Ahmadi-Moghaddam was speaking at the introduction of the province's new police chief, who was identified only as Qassem-Nasri. Outgoing police chief Hojatoleslam Qassemi was thanked for his 34 years of service.
((Bill Samii)
NEW Islamic Imams HEADING FOR EASTERN PROVINCES.
Khorasan Razavi Provincial Governor-General Mohammad Javad Mohammadzadeh introduced his new adviser on clerical affairs, Hojatoleslam Seyyed Marvian-Husseini, on July 17, provincial television reported. Mohammadzadeh said the clergy's role in managing the country is "substantial, fundamental, and irreplaceable."
The same day, Hojatoleslam Maadi, head of the Friday Imams' Policymaking Council for Khorasan Razavi, North Khorasan, and South Khorasan provinces, said the provinces would be getting more clerics soon, provincial television reported. Maadi said there would be changes in the Friday Prayers staffs and related offices by September 23. He added that the three provinces do not have enough prayer leaders. By March 20, 2008, he continued, North Khorasan will have 12 instead of six Friday Prayer leaders, South Khorasan will have 10 instead of six, and Khorasan Razavi will have 50 instead of the current 38.
Late last year it was reported that the administration of President Ahmadinejad was spending a great deal of money on religious institutions, but Friday Prayer leaders answer to the Supreme Leader's office and, presumably, that is the entity that pays their salaries.
(Bill Samii)
AZERI NEWSPAPER SHUT DOWN IN IRAN.
Tabriz-based "Nada-yi Azarabadegan" Editor Abolfazl Vesali was sentenced by the East Azerbaijan Province press court on July 24 to six months in jail and the newspaper's license revoked for six months, ILNA reported. Vesali said he was accused of inciting the public with the materials he published, and he spent 45 days in jail despite reportedly having posted bail. The court has already sealed the newspaper's offices and taken the furniture, Vesali said, adding that he will appeal the sentence. Vesali criticized the provincial press union for its failure to speak out on his behalf. The daily was shut down on June 1 over its reporting in connection with ethnically based riots that took place in May, ILNA reported on June 2.
Azerbaijan National Independence Party leader Etibar Mammadov appealed on July 24 to Azeris throughout the world and to the various political forces within Azerbaijan to join forces in a movement to support the embattled Azeri minority in Iran, day.az reported. He argued that an upsurge of protests among Iran's Azeris, which began two months ago in response to the publication of cartoons depicting Azeris as cockroaches creates new and favorable conditions for the unification of Azerbaijan and "southern Azerbaijan," as he described the predominantly Azeri-populated regions of northwestern Iran. But the online daily zerkalo.az observed on July 25 that pro-Iranian Islamists in Azerbaijan are likely to seek to undermine any such broad-based movement, which would in addition enrage Tehran. (Bill Samii, Liz Fuller)
IRANIAN MILITARY ASKED TO STOP ATTACKS ON PKK.
Murat Karayilan, a top official of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), suffered a leg wound in an Iranian artillery barrage in northern Iraq in late June, NTV reported from Istanbul on July 15. Karayilan and other wounded PKK members were treated at a hospital near Baghdad. The Iranian and Turkish armed forces have been cooperating on operations against the PKK and affiliated organizations for several months.
Iranian military attacks against PKK positions in northern Iraq are displacing noncombatants, Iraqi Kurdistan's Interior Minister Uthman al-Haj Mahmud said on 22 July, Al-Sharqiyah television reported the next day. The official said an Iranian artillery and rocket barrage forced residents of eight villages to flee. He called for a resumption of dialogue to resolve problems with the PKK.
Iran's ambassador to Ankara, Firuz Dolatabadi, said on July 24 that the United States and Israel are supporting the PKK, Istanbul's NTV reported. Dolatabadi added that Iran and Turkey are cooperating in the fight against the PKK. The U.S. State Department lists the PKK (also known as Kongra-Gel) as a "foreign terrorist organization," as does Iran.
(Bill Samii)
IRAN CALLS FOR NEW ENGLISH-LANGUAGE NEWS CHANNEL.
Ali Darabi, the deputy director for parliamentary and provincial affairs at Iranian state radio and television, announced in Arak on July 20 that the Islamic Republic is going to start an English-language television news channel, Mehr News Agency reported. He explained that Western media is boycotting the real news on events in Lebanon and Palestine. He said state radio and television broadcasts on 96 channels in 30 languages. Darabi said the U.S., which he referred to as "the arrogance," has hegemonic objectives: "By bringing to power and toppling its lackeys, the arrogance attempts to hatch utmost plots against Islam and the revolution, the example of which is the coming to power of Taliban, Al-Zarqawi and now Al-Muhajir in Iraq which has doubled the number of Shi'a martyrs in Iraq." (Bill Samii)
IRANIAN CONTRACTORS BUSY IN VENEZUELA.
Deputy Minister of Housing and Urban Development Manuchehr Khajeh Dalui said on July 12 that Iranian contractors are building 10,000 residential units in Venezuela and could build another 30,000, the Mehr News Agency reported. The two countries are discussing a joint 150,000 unit construction project, he added. Khajeh Dalui said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has welcomed Iranian involvement in his country's construction sector.(Bill Samii)
TEHRAN INSISTS THAT INDIA, PAKISTAN PAY MORE FOR GAS.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki announced on July 23 in Tehran that there are "difficulties" in the fulfillment of a contract to supply India with natural gas, India's PTI news agency reported. The original contract -- to supply 5 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) over 25 years -- set a maximum price of $3.25 per million British thermal units (MBTU). Now, Iran reportedly wants $5.1 per mBTU. India is insisting that Iran meet its commitment, and it is adamant that the deal will not be renegotiated.
Also on July 23, Iranian Petroleum Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh warned that Tehran will not sell gas to India and Pakistan at the price they are proposing, Fars News Agency reported. He reportedly added that the agreement has not yet been finalized. "If the Indian side is not ready to buy our gas at its real price, we have no obligation to sell it at the price lower than the real one," Vaziri-Hamaneh said, adding that India and Pakistan should forget about the lower price.
Iranian government spokesman Gholam Hussein Elham said on July 24 that talks on the sale of Iranian natural gas to India are continuing, IRNA reported.
(Bill Samii)
Iran's Missiles Extend Their Reach
By Jeffrey Young
19 August 2005
VOA - Aug 19/05 - While the world community has been focused on Iran's nuclear ambitions, Tehran has also been developing and deploying ballistic missiles that some believe could further destabilize the region and prompt an arms race.
Iran's Shahab 3 was derived from the North Korean No Dong and later improved to increase its range
What began as a Cold War missile race between the United States and the Soviet Union spilled over into the third world during the latter part of the 20th century. In the Middle East, Soviet-supplied Scud missiles were deployed by Egypt, Syria and Iraq. They also became part of Iran's arsenal. In response, Israel developed its own medium-range missiles. The region became a series of circles on maps delineating where missiles could strike, adding a new level of tension to troubled lands. That missile race continues today in Iran.
Lessons Learned in War
As Ivan Oelrich at the Federation of American Scientists in Washington explains, Tehran's drive to be a missile power began in the 1980s. "This all goes back to the Iran-Iraq War, and the so-called 'Battle of the Cities' in which both Iran and Iraq were throwing Scud missiles at each others' capital cities. This made a very deep impression on the Iranians - that there is nothing they could really do to defend against these things except try to retaliate. They recognized the importance of having some kind of missile capability," he says.
Early models of the Scud missile had a range of just under 200 kilometers. Then, as Andrew Koch with Janes Defence Weekly says, Iran sought
longer-range missiles.
"The original reason for Iran wanting to use longer-range missiles was Iraq," he says. "Then Iran became increasingly concerned about being bullied by the United States or other powers coming in. They see long-range missiles with conventional warheads or chemical warheads as an ability to keep those countries out of their area. And then, of course, I believe eventually they would like to have a nuclear deterrent."
the
Party Line: Response to Other Nations' Weapons
The Shahab 3 can reach Israel carrying a warhead large enough for a basic nuclear weapon
The United States and other western nations viewed the range of the Shahab 3 with great concern because it gave Iran the ability to target Israel with a missile carrying a payload of up to one metric ton, enough for a basic nuclear warhead. But since the early 1980s, long before the Iranian Shahab 3 was deployed, Israel had at least western Iran within the 1,500 kilometer range of its own nuclear-capable missile, the Jericho II.
Both the Shahab 3 and the Jericho II are carried on mobile launchers parked in underground shelters rather than in fixed silos. The mobile launchers allow the missiles to be easily moved, making it more difficult for adversaries to target them. This tactic was used with some success by Iraq in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
Iran and Israel continue to improve their missiles for greater range and warhead capacities. Unlike Israel, Iran has not launched any satellites into orbit, but William Hoar, Editor-in-Chief of a Washington-based information service called Military Periscope, says both countries are using space program technology and descriptive terms for missiles that analysts say clearly have military applications.
"The Israelis have what they call a 'space launch vehicle' and that's what the Iranians have decided to call theirs, which is the Shahab 4," he says, adding " At one point, the Iranians said it was, in fact, a more capable ballistic missile. But then they backtracked on that and they've decided to now characterize that as a 'space launch vehicle.'"
Missile Race Among Regional Powers ?
Israel's current Jericho II missile only reaches the western edge of Iran, but the Jericho III could put all of Iran in range
Many analysts say the Israeli Jericho III missile, which is still being developed, is expected to have a range of 2,500 kilometers, which would put Iran well within its reach. The Iranian Shahab 4 is believed to have a range of at least 2,000 kilometers, enabling it to hit targets well outside the Middle East. Iran is believed to be working on an even longer-range missile called the Shahab 5, with the ability to strike targets perhaps 4,000 thousand kilometers away.
Analyst Daniel Goure at the Lexington Institute in Washington notes why such missiles are designed. "The only reason to have long-range ballistic missiles is to put 'special payloads' on them. Just high explosives alone do almost nothing in terms of the effect. It's not even a very good terror weapon. The thing that worries us most is the connection between these longer-range ballistic missile programs, the Shahab 4s and 5s, and the alleged Iranian nuclear program because there's no better fit in the world than a long-range ballistic missile and a nuclear weapon."
Western intelligence estimates - [ at least officially] -
say Iran is still years away from having a working nuclear weapon, however. Analysts say making one small enough to fit on a missile is a separate challenge for Tehran.
Most analysts say Iran does not see Israel as its only potential adversary. Ivan Oelrich at the Federation of American Scientists says Iran is in a very volatile region, and because of that wants to use missiles as part of a strategy of deterrence against any aggressor. "Many countries," he says "develop weapons without clearly defined potential adversaries just because you don't know what the future will hold. Iran shares a border with Pakistan and they don't have perfectly good relations, and they might be looking at Pakistan. They might be looking at Saudi Arabia. They might be looking at a lot of different countries."
New Iranian Leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Most Iran-watchers say their concerns over Tehran's missile program and its nuclear ambitions have grown with the recent election of conservative hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president. Mr. Ahmadinejad has made it clear that Iran will continue on its present strategic path, one that could put his country on a collision course with the interests of other nations. If that collision takes place, many analysts say, missiles could be involved.
Strange ? - Iranian Arms Transfers Help Turn Bosnia into Militant Islamic Base
Left, right: Iran
and Venezuela in lockstep
By M K Bhadrakumar
July 8/05 - Among the world leaders felicitating Iran's president-elect, Mahmud
Ahmadinejad, one head of state conspicuously set aside protocol norms - President Hugo Chavez of
Venezuela. Though Ahmadinejad will only be formally sworn in on August 4 - and a congratulatory message through diplomatic channels at this stage was all that was required - Chavez telephoned
Ahmadinejad.
Chavez was being deliberate in making an extraordinary gesture of warmth and camaraderie. He wished to personally convey to Ahmadinejad that the latter's election had enhanced the "legitimacy" of Iran internationally, a country that Venezuela would regard as a "friend and brotherly nation" on the world stage. He said he would depute a high-level delegation from Caracas to visit Tehran specially to be present at Ahmadinejad's swearing-in ceremony, and that he would visit Tehran in the near future, aiming at a "comprehensive expansion" of cooperation between the two countries.
Ukraine, Iran Discuss Iranian Gas Exports
Ukraine, Iran Discuss Iranian Gas Exports
12 July 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Ukrainian National Defense and Security Council Secretary Petro Poroshenko is visiting Tehran for talks with Iranian officials on issues including the transit of Iranian natural gas to Europe via Ukraine.
Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Hassan Rohani, who met with Poroshenko on 11 July, said Iran could boost its exports of natural gas to international markets to 100 billion cubic meters in the coming years.
Poroshenko said Ukraine is ready to cooperate in exporting Iranian gas to Europe and to invest in the Iranian gas sector. He said Iran could provide up to half of the European demand for gas in the future.
Reports say the Ukrainian and Iranian sides were also expected to discuss steps to deepen political and economic cooperation, including in aerospace engineering, regional security, and efforts against drug trafficking.
(ITAR-TASS/dpa/Interfax/IRNA)
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
 | the Holy Spirit to reveal Christ the Saviour to Iranians, through supernatural means and the witness of his Church. |
| God in his mercy to spare Iran from descending into more intense
Islamic repression, but direct people's hearts towards moderation and
freedom, and open their eyes to the cause of their suffering.| God to protect his already suffering Church, empowering and blessing
Iran's Christians, his precious children living in a hostile environment,
who are also his light, salt, yeast and ambassadors for the nation. | God to protect and encourage Pastor Hamid Pourmand in Evin Prison in
Tehran, and provide his family with everything they need. May truth be
brought out and honoured and may justice be done. (Proverbs 29:26) | |
BBC- Mar 10/05 - Pakistan has confirmed that the former head of its nuclear weapons programme, AQ Khan, gave centrifuges for enriching uranium to Iran.
It is the first time Pakistani officials have publicised details of what nuclear materials the disgraced scientist passed on to Iran.
Information minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told the BBC's Urdu service that "a few" centrifuges were involved.
Iran is under international pressure over its nuclear ambitions.
It says it intends to use enriched uranium only in power stations, but the US says Iran is making fuel for nuclear weapons.
'Personal capacity'
The Pakistani information minister stated again on Thursday that his government had no knowledge of Dr Khan's activities.
"He helped Iran in his personal capacity," he said, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Iran and US in 'heated exchange' at Saudi anti-terror meet: report
RIYADH (AFP) - Feb 7/05 - Delegates from the United States and archfoe Iran engaged in a "heated" exchange at a counter-terrorism conference in Saudi Arabia, the local media reported but a US official insisted the encounter was "professional."
"The exchange that took place in the first general assembly was a professional one reflecting differences in views between the US and Iranian delegations," a US embassy spokesperson in Riyadh told AFP.
But the English-daily Saudi Gazette said the Iranian and US delegations at the closed-door conference were reportedly "locked in a heated exchange... when the issue of what constitutes terrorism arose."
Diplomatic sources told AFP that Saturday's address by US Homeland Security Advisor Frances Townsend had prompted the head of the Iranian delegation to give a speech in response. There were no details on the content of his speech.
In her address, Townsend said she invoked US President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s remarks from his State of the Union speech in which said Iran "remains the world's primary state sponsor of terror."
But a member of the Iranian delegation said the US accusations were "baseless," adding that "Iran is a country that has been negatively affected by terrorism throughout the past two decades."
Rice warns Iran against provoking Israel
UK Guardian - Feb 7/05 - Condoleezza Rice turned Washington's rhetoric on Iran up another notch yesterday, telling Iranians they would have to "live up to their international obligations" to avoid a conflict with Israel.
But back in Washington, the secretary of defence, Donald Rumsfeld, struck a more dovish note, saying the estimates he had seen said Iran was "years away" from building a nuclear bomb, and that the White House had meanwhile opted for diplomacy.
"The president handles Iran policy, he's decided on a diplomatic route ... They're on a diplomatic path," he said.
The Bush administration has sent mixed signals to Tehran in the past week, mixing bellicose and reconciliatory remarks, amid reports that the Pentagon is already sending special operations teams into Iran to spot potential targets.
In an interview on BBC's Breakfast with Frost, recorded on Friday but broadcast yesterday, Ms Rice was asked about remarks last month by Vice-President Dick Cheney, who warned of a possible pre-emptive strike against Iran by Israel - which already has a nuclear arsenal - if the latter felt threatened.
In response, Ms Rice put the onus on Iran, saying: "Obviously, anything that would lead to conflict in this region would be a terrible, terrible thing. And the Iranians need to live up to their international obligations so we don't face any such point."
Ms Rice, who holds talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders today, has said that the US will not take part in European negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme, reflecting the Bush administration's distaste for dealing with Tehran, and its belief that Iran will use such discussions as a cover to buy time to work secretly on a bomb.
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Feb 5/05 - Australia
had become a mediator in a nuclear stand-off between Iran and the United States,
Prime Minister John Howard said on Sunday, in a move that mirrors Australia's
role in the North Korea nuclear crisis.
Howard said Australia had been able to use its close alliance with the
United States and diplomatic ties with Iran to act as a go-between for the two
nations -- a role illustrated when President Bush called him on Friday.
"I was able to talk at some length with President Bush about the
substance of my discussion with the Iranian Foreign Minister (at the World
Economic Forum in Switzerland)," Howard told Australian television.
"I think all of that helps ... There are a number of countries around
the world that we talk to that the Americans don't talk to in the same way and
we are able to pass on information," he said.
Australia has used its diplomatic ties with North Korea to also act as a
mediator between the reclusive communist state and the United States in a bid to
break a deadlock over Pyonyang's nuclear ambitions.
Oil-rich Iran insists its nuclear program is aimed at the peaceful
generation of electricity, but the United States has alleged the country is
developing nuclear weapons.
Howard urged Iran to negotiate on its nuclear capacity with Britain,
Germany and France -- who have taken the lead in persuading Iran not to build a
nuclear bomb -- and said he does not believe the United States would attack the
Islamic republic.
EU: Solana warns against Iran strike
BBC - Feb 6/05 - A military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities would be "a mistake", the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, has warned.
"That will complicate enormously the situation," he told Britain's ITV television network.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said last week a strike on Iran was "not on the agenda at this point".
Ms Rice also urged Europe to show "unity of purpose" with Washington in opposing Iran's nuclear programme.
The US accuses Tehran of trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has repeatedly denied the charge, insisting that its nuclear programme is for civilian use.
The EU has been negotiating with Tehran over its nuclear activities, but the US has urged a tougher stance.
France, Germany and Britain are trying to persuade Iran to turn a freeze on its nuclear enrichment activities into abandonment.
'Difficult to conceive'
Mr Solana was interviewed on ITV's Jonathan Dimbleby programme, to be for broadcast on Sunday.
Asked about US Vice-President Dick Cheney's warning last month that Israel might attack Iran's nuclear facilities without warning, Mr Solana said: "I think that would be something I would not like to see taking place.
"That would be a mistake. That will complicate enormously the situation."
Condy
Rice RICE TURNS UP HEAT ON IRAN'S 'UNELECTED MULLAHS'
Bush Administration Toughens Line Just Short of 'Regime Change'
ICEJ _ Feb 4/05 - Launching her maiden voyage as US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice continued turning the heat up on Iran, describing Tehran's behavior in human rights and other areas as
loathsome and insisting that Iranians deserve better leaders than "unelected mullahs."
En route to London on her first international trip as secretary of state, Rice told reporters one of the main objectives of her trip would be to discuss with European allies how to expand "freedom and liberties" to places where they have not existed before, citing as examples recent elections in Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories, Iraq and Ukraine.
"The Iranian people should have a chance to determine their own future," Rice told reporters. "They should be no different from the Palestinians or Iraqis or other peoples around the world."
The comments come on the heels of US President George W. Bush's State of the Union address Wednesday evening, in which he singled out Iran as "the world's primary state sponsor of terror -- pursuing nuclear weapons," while depriving its people of freedom.
Bush warned that, "there are still regimes seeking weapons of mass destruction -- but no longer without attention and without consequence," while assuring the Iranian public, "As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you."
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blasted Bush's comments in a speech to students in Tehran, quoted by state-run television. "America is like one of the big heads of a seven-headed dragon," Khamenei said. "The brains directing it are Zionist and non-Zionist capitalists who brought Bush to power to meet their own interests."
Asked bluntly in a press conference in London on Friday if the Bush Administration now seeks "regime change" in Iran, Rice again listed its grievances against Iran - sponsoring terrorism, pursuing nuclear weapons, oppressing its people - and repeated that the Iranian people deserve better leaders.
She dismissed a question whether the US planned to go to war with Iran during Bush's second term, saying there were plenty of "diplomatic" means to address the challenges presented by Tehran for now.
Britain, France and Germany have been negotiating directly with Iran to freeze its suspected nuclear weapons program, which the Iranians insist is for peaceful purposes. But an Iranian opposition group charged Thursday that Iran is producing the material needed to trigger a fission chain reaction that would detonate a nuclear bomb, saying the "top secret project" proves Tehran does not intend its nuclear technology for peaceful purposes alone.
Iran & India:
Washington, Feb 1/05 - (IANS) India's Petroleum Minister Mani Shanker Aiyar has said his country is going "full steam ahead" in developing its relations with Iran despite differences of opinion among the world community how it should treat the country.
"We are conscious about differences in perspectives the world over on how the world should treat Iran. We are going full steam ahead in developing our relationship with Iran in hydrocarbons," Aiyar said here on his way to a roadshow in Houston to seek participation of global majors in the fifth round of exploration blocks being offered by India.
Under the fifth round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP-V), import-dependent India is offering 20 blocks for exploration of oil and gas including six deepwater blocks in the Kerala-Konkan, Mahanadi, Andaman-Nicobar and Krishna-Godavari basins.
India has so far given out 90 blocks for exploration under the first four rounds of NELP with several promising discoveries of oil and gas by Cairn Energy and Reliance Industries among others.
"We are moving ahead on a broad front. I don't think we are going to be easily thwarted," he said in response to a question whether there was US pressure on how to deal with Iran in the light of its reported nuclear programme.
Iran
& China: Iran's shadow over Turkey, Saudi Arabia
Jan 29/05 - Asia Times - On January 1, Iran at last codified that the Islamic Republic will hold presidential elections this summer. One of the major policy issues affected by this election will be Iran's potential development and acquisition of nuclear weapons. A nuclear Iran - regardless of its intention - remains a clear and intrinsic threat both to the United States and its regional interests and allies.
If Iran were to acquire nuclear weapons, then, from a strategic standpoint, a "best case" scenario for US interests would be an Iran that retains a defensive stance and does not seek to expand its influence in the region. That being said, even defensive tactics can be affected in a world where states possess variable and often wildly differing notions of national security interests. Because of this, Washington is working to take preventive measures to slow Iran's quest for power. For instance, one preventive measure - and a measure that has been in place for years - is US economic sanctions.
Washington's sanctions policy has not been entirely effective. Iran's economic sectors remain heavily reliant on energy resources. While its energy industry is ineffectually managed because of haphazard state control, questionable oversight procedures, and murky forms of regulation, these inadequacies and potential liabilities make little difference to thirsty states such as China and India, both of which have a growing demand for energy resources.
Because of this, Tehran is able to compensate for US economic sanctions through its growing relations with China and India. Further, in the case of China, it is not in Beijing's present interests to see Iran weakened and for the US to be strengthened, since increased US influence in the Middle East and Central Asia is looked on by Chinese policymakers as a threat to China's growth as a regional power. These geopolitical interests are intrinsically linked to pipelines and other infrastructure investments through Central Asia that have everything to do with China's and India's interests in Iran.
Afghanistan: Kabul turns to Tehran (Iran)
PRAGUE - Jan 28/05 - Asia
times- Afghan President Hamid Karzai is making his first official visit out of the country since taking presidential office in early December. He is leading a high-level delegation to Iran for two days that includes the ministers of the interior, finance and economy, as well as the minister for refugees.
Karzai and President Mohammad Khatami were set to inaugurate the Doqarun-Herat road on Thursday. The 122 kilometer road will link the Doqarun border region in northeastern Iran with the western Afghan city of Herat. The Iranian Embassy in Kabul said Karzai and Khatami would also open a newly completed power transmission line running from Torbat-e Jam in northeastern Iran to Herat, as well as eight border stations constructed by Iran in Afghanistan's Herat, Nimruz and Farah provinces.
Iran is working on several other reconstruction projects in Afghanistan. Media in December reported the opening of the first Iranian bank (Ariyan Bank) in Kabul. Iran and Afghanistan are also cooperating in the fight against the trafficking of drugs from Afghanistan.
Colonel Christopher Langton, who heads the defense analysis department at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, said Iran is an important country in the future reconstruction and development of Afghanistan.
"They are being closely linked by efforts against the Taliban in the past, but also because of the influence that Iran can bring there with the Hazara population [who, like Iranians, are Shi'ite Muslims]. And in the development sector, there are already projects which Iran is involved in - for instance, the road from Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf up through Afghanistan to Central Asia is a very, very important project for the future of Afghanistan," Langton said. "There is a whole list of political, economic and security issues which connect Afghanistan and Iran."
Iran and Afghanistan are also connected historically and culturally. And Iran's strained relations with the US have not prevented Tehran from strengthening its economic and trade cooperation with Kabul since the US-led fall of the Taliban in late 2001.
Karzai's trip to Iran comes amid growing speculation about a US military strike on Iran. An article published recently in The New Yorker magazine said US Special Forces have been penetrating eastern Iran from Afghanistan since last summer in order to identify sites for possible strikes.
In a recent interview with RFE/RL's Afghan Service, Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zaher Azimi denied the report. "No forces have entered Iran from Afghanistan," Azimi said. "Afghanistan's policy and strategy is to have good relations with its neighbors. We want to be sure about their non-interference, and they also should be sure about Afghanistan's non-interference."
A spokesman for Karzai, Rafiullah Mujaddedi, said he was unsure whether the Afghan and Iranian presidents would discuss reports that the US military - which has thousands of troops in Afghanistan - had conducted missions inside Iran. Langton said a US military strike on Iran would have a deeply negative impact on ties between the two neighbors.
 |
| Secretary of State Rice (file photo) |
Copyright (c) 2005. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
Iran's Rafsanjani tells Muslims to 'kick' Americans out of region
TEHRAN (AFP) - Jan 14/05 - Iran's influential former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, told Muslims in the weekly sermon to "kick" Americans out of region.
"The Muslims should take advantage of the political openness and kick the Americans out of the region," Rafsanjani said in a sermon broadcast on state radio.
"The United States cannot mislead people any more and claim that they want to bring about freedom and the democracy... the shame of Abu Gharib and Guantanamo still trails the US and it cannot claim to speak about human rights," said Rafsanjani, now the head Iran's arbitration body.
Iran hails UN nuclear 'victory'
BBC- Nov 30/04 - A top Iranian official has claimed a "great victory" over the US after the UN said it would not punish Iran's nuclear activities with sanctions.
Hassan Rohani said Iran would never give up its right to nuclear power.
He stressed during talks with European countries Iran's freeze on uranium enrichment was only temporary.
The UN atomic agency IAEA welcomed Iran's offer to freeze enrichment in a statement on Monday that did not mention any threat of future sanctions.
US President George W Bush has acknowledged Iran's latest move, but says the US wants the enrichment programme terminated, not just suspended.
At a press conference in Canada where he is on an official visit, Mr Bush described the freeze as "a positive step, but it is certainly not the final step".
Washington has accused Iran of going back on numerous promises over its nuclear activities, and had been pushing for UN sanctions.
For his part, Mr Rohani said the "whole world had turned down America's calls".
"We have proved that, in an international institution, we are capable of isolating the US. And that is a great victory," said Mr Rohani, who heads Iran's top security body.
The UN General Assembly has censured Iran for human rights violations, in a relatively close vote.
By 71 votes to 54, with 55 abstentions, the assembly on Monday said Tehran restricted free speech, used torture, and persecuted dissenters.
The resolution is not legally binding but is an expression of world opinion.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International says it fears an Iranian woman convicted of adultery may be buried up to her chest and stoned to death on Tuesday.
The human rights group has urged the Iranian authorities to grant a last-minute reprieve to the woman, Hajieh Esmailvand.
'Serious concern'
The UN resolution condemning Iran was sponsored by Canada - whose relations with Iran have suffered since Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi died in Iranian custody in June 2003.
The resolution expressed "serious concern" about the "continuing violations of human rights" in Iran - including restrictions on freedom of expression.
It said the persecution of those peacefully expressing political views had increased, citing "crackdowns by the judiciary and security forces against journalists, parliamentarians, students, clerics and academics; the unjustified closure of newspapers and blocking of Internet sites".
The resolution also expressed concern at:
* the execution of children
* torture, as well as degrading punishments such as amputation, flogging and stoning
* discrimination against women and girls
* the persecution of political opponents, following last February's mass disqualification of opposition candidates in the run-up to parliamentary elections
* discrimination against minorities, including
Christians, Jews, Sunni Muslims, and in particular followers of the Baha'i faith, including arbitrary arrest and detention.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International says time may be running out for Ms Esmailvand, the Iranian woman feared to be facing death by stoning on Tuesday.
Iran rebukes EU on rights abuses
Factbox: Timeline Of Iran Nuclear Crisis
By Brian Whitmore
August 2002 -- An Iranian exile opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, accuses Tehran of hiding a uranium-enrichment facility at Natanz and a heavy-water plant at Arak.
February 2003 -- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Muhammad el-Baradei visits Iran to verify Tehran's claims that its nuclear program is peaceful. IAEA inspectors later find traces of highly enriched uranium at Natanz and other sites.
June 2003 -- In a report, el-Baradei says inspections have demonstrated that "Iran failed to report certain nuclear materials and activities" and urges Tehran to cooperate with the agency. The report does not declare Iran in breach of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). The IAEA requests that Iran sign on to the Additional Protocol to the NPT and allow
unannounced inspections of its nuclear sites.
July 2003 -- IAEA begins a fresh round of inspections in Iran.
September 2003 -- The United States says Iran is in noncompliance with the NPT, and calls for a referral to the UN Security Council, which could impose sanctions. But Washington agrees to support a proposal from Great Britain, France, and Germany (who were negotiating on behalf of the European Union and became known as the "EU Three") to give the Tehran until the end of October to fully disclose nuclear activities and allow for a stricter inspection regime.
October 2003 -- The foreign ministers of France, Germany, and Great Britain travel to Tehran and persuade Iran to agree to stop enriching uranium and to sign the Additional Protocol to the NPT. The EU Three also dangle economic concessions if Tehran cooperates fully with the IAEA. Iran turns over a declaration to the IAEA admitting to 18 years of covert atomic experiments, including the unreported uranium enrichment, although it continues to deny this was for a weapons program.
November 2003 -- An IAEA report states that at the moment there is no conclusive proof that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. The United States, seeking to have Iran sent to the UN Security Council, dismisses the conclusion. The IAEA's 35-menber board of governors passes a resolution sternly rebuking Iran for covering up 18 years of atomic experiments, but does not send the matter to the Security Council.
February 2004 -- Abdul Qadeer Khan, the founder of Pakistan's nuclear program, says that he had provided atomic secrets to Iran, Libya, and North Korea since the late
1980s. IAEA inspectors notice similarities in designs and components for the advanced P-2 centrifuge, adding to suspicions that Khan supplied both countries with same nuclear know-how.
May 2004 -- Iran submits to the IAEA a over-1,000-page report on its nuclear activities.
June 2004 -- IAEA says that inspectors found new traces of enriched uranium that exceeded the levels necessary for civilian energy production.
July 2004 -- Iran says it has resumed production of parts for centrifuges that are used for enriching uranium, but insists that it has not resumed its enrichment activities. The announcement appears to put the enrichment-freeze deal worked out between Iran, the EU Three, and the IAEA in jeopardy.
September 2004 -- An IAEA report calls Iran's claims about its nuclear program "plausible," but voices concern over Iran's decision to resume large-scale production of the feed material for enriching uranium. Claiming enrichment is a "sovereign right," Iran refuses to accept an unlimited suspension and says it will not stop manufacturing centrifuges. The IAEA gives Iran a 25 November deadline to reveal all its nuclear activities. Tehran later announces that it has resumed large-scale conversion of uranium yellowcake ore, a step towards uranium enrichment.
October 2004 -- The EU Three again calls for Iran to suspend all uranium-enrichment activities to avoid its case being brought before the Security Council. The Europeans offer economic and political incentives in exchange. The Iranian parliament passes a bill approving the resumption of enrichment activities.
November 2004 -- Iran holds talks in Paris with the EU Three. On 14 November, Iran signs an agreement to suspend uranium enrichment. The Europeans offer a series of political and economic concessions in exchange. But at an IAEA board of governors meeting from 25-29 November -- which was set to pass a resolution endorsing the deal and agreeing to monitor it -- Iran insists on an exemption for 20 centrifuges for research purposes. Iran eventually backs down, but demands -- and wins -- key changes softening the resolution in exchange. Most importantly, the resolution describes the enrichment freeze as a voluntary, rather than the legally binding commitment as both the United States and the EU sought.
December 2004 -- Talks between Iran and the EU Three over political and economic concessions, in exchange for Iran making its enrichment suspension permanent, are scheduled to begin on 13 December.
WHAT A SURPRISE (NOT !) : Iran Seeks to Amend Nuclear Freeze Deal
VIENNA, Austria -Nov 24/04 - Iran is seeking a last-minute exception to its commitment to stop all uranium enrichment activities by demanding the right to operate around two dozen
centrifuges [Nuclear Enrichment
Operations], diplomats said Wednesday.
The Iranians have told the International Atomic Energy Agency the U.N. nuclear watchdog they want to operate about 24 centrifuges "for research purposes," diplomats told The Associated Press.
They have asked the IAEA to exempt that equipment from agency seals meant to ensure the enrichment program which can be used to make nuclear weapons is completely frozen, one diplomat said.
While the number of centrifuges was relatively insignificant, the request casts doubt on Iran's commitment to dispel international suspicions about its nuclear ambitions.
The move comes on the eve of an IAEA board meeting that will examine Iran's compliance to international demands including calls for a suspension of all enrichment and related activities something Iran agreed to earlier this month in a deal with European negotiators.
A senior EU diplomat, who is also a delegate to the IAEA board meeting, said the European Union (news - web sites) was resisting the demand which it viewed as contravening a Nov. 7 Paris agreement negotiated between Iran and Germany, France and Britain, on behalf of the European Union.
That deal commits Tehran to full suspension of enrichment and all related activities while the two sides discuss providing Iran with EU technical and economic aid and other concessions.
Iran said Monday it had carried out the suspension, weakening a U.S. effort to refer Tehran's suspect nuclear activities to the U.N. Security Council.
The suspension was clearly timed to coincide with the start of the 35-nation IAEA board meeting Thursday and met a key demand of the last board meeting in September. It thus deprived the Americans of the argument that Tehran was defying the U.N. agency.
Report: Iran admits to supplying Hezbollah with drones
Nov 10/04
A senior Iranian official has admitted that Tehran supplied Hezbollah with the drone that spent several minutes in Israeli skies in the north of the country on Sunday, an Arab-language newspaper reported Wednesday
Haaretz reported Tuesday that Iranian drone experts from
the Iranian Revolutionary Guards took part in the launch from Lebanon of a
Hezbollah drone that spent several minutes over northern Israel this week.
On Wednesday, the Arab-language Al-Shark Al-Awsat newspaper, which is published
in London, quoted a senior official in the Revolutionary Guards as saying that
the drone was one of eight Iran-produced unmanned airborne vehicles that the
country gave Hezbollah in August.
Iran also supplied Hezbollah with surface-to-surface missiles that have a
70-kilometer range, according to the report.
The official also said Iran had launched similar drones over Iraq to garner
information on American military activity there.
The first launch of an Iranian drone by Hezbollah ended with the plane crashing
on its way back to Lebanon. The drone apparently carried a camera capable of
transmitting images while the plane is in motion.
The Hezbollah operatives were trained in the use of the plane by experts from
the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
The Iranian activity can be regarded as a clear-cut case of aggression against
Israel.
What makes it unusual is that Iranian military experts from the Revolutionary
Guards sent their people to a third country to act against Israel. They have
usually supported Palestinian terror groups with money or weapons, but in this
case, Iranians were involved directly in launching the drone and preparing it
for its mission.
Lebanon also cannot wash its hands of the affair and pretend innocence. It is
possible the Lebanese did not know about the activity and the preparations and
did not know about the Iranian involvement, but since it took place on Lebanese
territory, the Lebanese government is directly responsible for the act of
aggression. Its arguments won't hold water if Israel decides to react to similar
incidents in the future.
The drone was developed and built in Iranian plants in the 1990s.
Powell Says He Will Meet With Iranians (???)
Nov 14/04
MEXICO CITY - The United States expects to sit down with Iran at an international conference to discuss stability in Iraq , U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday. Washington and Tehran have no diplomatic relations.
The international conference, scheduled to be held in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik on Nov. 22-23, will include Middle Eastern states and the powerful Group of Eight industrial nations. They are expected to throw their support behind the Iraqi interim government's efforts toward stabilizing the country.
China, the United Nations , the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Conference and the European Union are also expected to participate.
Powell said Tuesday he believed the Iranians were planning to attend.
"Since we'll all be at the same conference, I expect that I would be talking to everybody at that conference, to include the Iranians and Syrians and others, just as I have done in the past," he told a news conference in Mexico City, where he met with his Mexican counterpart, Luis Ernesto Derbez.
India and Iran in gas partnership
BBC- Nov 3/04 State-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has teamed up with Iran's Petropars to put forward a $3bn (£1.63bn) joint project to develop a gas field in Iran.
The proposal from India's biggest refiner would also see it set up a liquefaction plant in Iran.
It follows talks between officials from India, Asia's third largest oil user, and Iran, the number two Opec producer.
IOC said a memorandum of understanding had been signed with Petropars, a unit of the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC).
'Integrated project'
The agreement came after discussions between India's oil minister, Mani Shankar Aiyar, and his Iranian counterpart, Bijan Zanganeh, in Vienna two months ago.
The agreement was signed "for development of a joint proposal to be submitted to National Iranian Oil Co. for the proposed integrated project of development of the gas field and setting up of LNG liquefaction facilities".
A feasibility report into the proposed project will be carried out to see how much of the $3bn scheme would be paid for by IOC.
Indian state-run oil companies have been looking for investment opportunities in Iran to agree package deals which would also involve New Delhi buying Iranian liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Overseas stakes
India imports more than two-thirds of its crude oil requirement and output from its ageing oilfields has declined in recent years.
Meanwhile, demand for energy, as in China, has been rising despite soaring crude oil prices in recent months.
India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) plans to take a 55% stake from Canadian firm Antrim Energy in an offshore block in western Australia.
China to develop
Iran oil field
BBC- Nov 1/04 - China has signed an agreement to buy oil and gas from Iran and to develop Iran's Yadavaran oil field, according to state media from both countries.
The deal was signed in Beijing by Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh and Ma Kai, head of China's National Development and Reform Commission.
China, which has longstanding ties with Iran, is searching for new energy reserves to drive its booming economy.
The agreement will be carried out by Chinese oil company Sinopec.
Wider implications
The prospect of Beijing increasing its reliance on Iranian energy sources may spark concern in Washington, however, as the US is spearheading international efforts to curb Iran's nuclear programme.
Success may depend on China's support, as it is one of five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
The UN has asked Iran to suspend all uranium enrichment or face referral the Security Council, but Iran's parliament has voted in favour of a law making it obligatory for the Iranian government to pursue uranium enrichment.
China and Iran share an alliance as developing nations and visits by senior leaders are commonplace. In April, Iranian Vice-President Mohammad Setarifar co-chaired the twelfth China-Iran Co-operation Commission meeting in Beijing.
Iran sticks to nuclear enrichment
BBC - Oct 24/04
Iran has rejected a European offer of trade concessions and nuclear technology in return for a suspension of its uranium enrichment activities.
An Iranian spokesman said the proposal from Britain, France and Germany was unbalanced and unacceptable.
The UN's nuclear agency, the IAEA, has given Iran until the end of November to suspend its enrichment programme.
Iran says the programme is purely for peaceful purposes, but the USA accuses it of developing nuclear weapons.
"The European proposal is their preliminary proposition and is not definitive, but it is unbalanced," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi said.
He told reporters that the negotiations were continuing, and would resume on Wednesday with the Iranian part putting forward its own counterproposals.
Iran, Russia to sign deal on spent nuclear fuel
(about Nuclear plans)
Saturday, October 2004 -
LONDON, Oct 30 ( IranMania) - Tehran and Moscow are set to sign a deal on the return of the spent nuclear fuel to Russia in early December during a visit to Tehran by the Russian Atomic Energy Agency Alexander
Rumyantsev, a source told Iran's Mehr News Agency.
The pledge was made during a meeting between Iranian Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEO) and foreign ministry officials with Rumyantsev in Moscow.
IAEO deputy chairman Mohammad Saeedi and Irans special representative for Caspian Sea affairs and the director of the Foreign Ministry Department for Commonwealth of Independent States Mahdi Safari were among the delegates present at the meeting.
During the meeting the two sides discussed various bilateral issues and Tehran-Moscow ties.
Saeedi called for more precise and accurate managerial approaches to expedite the completion of the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
Notice Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Iran
On November 14, 1979, by Executive Order 12170, the President declared a national emergency with respect to Iran pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706) to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States constituted by the situation in Iran. Because our relations with Iran have not yet returned to normal, and the process of implementing the January 19, 1981, agreements with Iran is still underway, the national emergency declared on November 14, 1979, must continue in effect beyond November 14, 2004. Therefore, consistent with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year this national emergency with respect to Iran.
This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
November 9, 2004.
More Here Soon
Iranian's 3 wives attempt suicide after shopping row
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Nov 21/04 - All three wives of a 67-year-old Iranian man have taken overdoses in an unsuccessful triple suicide attempt after the youngest wife bought an expensive pair of boots, a news agency has reported.
"My two other wives were very jealous after my 27-year-old wife bought a pair of boots for $450," the husband was quoted as saying by the ISNA student news agency on Sunday.
"After they had an