text:
Hi Everyone,
Here is some update on the situaiton of Behrouz Javid Tehrani, I have attatched the original link. I apologize to those who cannot read Farsi, I will try to translate this by tomorow night.
به زندانيان سياسي نبايد رحم کرد
مسئول زندان رجايي شهر: - دوشنبه 10 اردیبهشت 1386 [2007.04.30]
حسن زارع زاده اردشير
مقامات زندان گوهردشت کرج (رجائي شهر)، بهروز جاويد تهراني را مورد ضرب و شتم قرار
دادند و به سلول انفرادي منتقل کردبهروز جاويد تهراني از زندانيان سابق کوي دانشگاه است که پس از آزادي چندين بار دستگير و زنداني شده و به دليل فعاليت هاي سياسي مورد غضب مقامات امنيتي و قضائي قرار گرفته است. او به همين علت براي گذراندن دوران محکوميت به زندان گوهردشت کرج تبعيد شده تا در کنار ند
زندانيان عادي خطرناک به سر برد.
به گفته آرسم آزاد سخنگوي کارزار آزادي بهروز جاويد
تهراني و عضو کميته دانشجويي دفاع از زندانيان سياسي
تهراني و عضو کميته دانشجويي دفاع از زندانيان سياسي، "انتقال جاويد تهراني به سلول انفرادي از آنجائي آغاز شد که چند روز پيش يکي از مسئولين زندان رجائي شهر تمامي اشرار و قاتلين را در دارالقرآن اين زندان جمع کرد و با منافق خواندن همه زندانيان سياسي گفت نبايد به اينها رحم کرد. موضوعي که واکنش زندانيان سياسي را برانگيخت
در همين راستا ضرب و شتم بهروز جاويد تهراني ابتدا توسط مجرمان خطرناکي که براي مقامات زندان کار مي کنند انجام گرفت تا مقدمات انتقال او به انفرادي و برخوردهاي بعدي فراهم شود. آرسم آزاد مي گويد: "جان بهروز جاويد تهراني در خطر است چرا که او همواره در بدترين شرايط بوده و مسئولان زندان فشارها را بر او بيشتر مي کنند."
بر اساس خبر منتشر شده از طرف کارزار آزادي بهروز جاويد تهراني، او از 4 ارديبهشت يعني يک روز پس از منافق خواندن زندانيان سياسي توسط يکي از مقامات زندان گوهردشت، به سلول انفرادي برده شده است.
البته اين تنها بهروز جاويد تهراني نيست که توسط مقامات زندان مورد اذيت و آزار قرار مي گيرد. به گفته سخنگوي کارزار آزادي بهروز جاويد تهراني " پس از اظهارات مغرضانه يکي از مسئولان زندان بر عليه زندانيان سياسي، ابتدا مهرداد لهراسبي يکي از مظلوم ترين زندانيان سياسي کوي دانشگاه توسط علي محمدي معاون زندان رجايي شهر احضار شد و معاون زندان به اواعلام کرد اگر از خواسته هاي خود چشم پوشي نکند به سرنوشت اکبر محمدي دچار خواهد شد. در حالي که تنها خواسته مهرداد اين است که براي درمان انواع و اقسام مريضي هايش مرخصي بگيرد."
حمايت زندانيان اوين
به فاصله کوتاهي از اعلام خبر انتقال بهروز جاويد تهراني به سلول انفرادي، 4 تن از زندانيان سياسي در زندان اوين در بيانيه اي از او حمايت و اقدام قوه قضائيه را محکوم کردند.
روز گذشته، کيوان رفيعي، عبدالرضا رجبي، ابوالفضل جهاندار ومحمد فلاحي زاده در بيانيه اي نوشتند: "سخن از نقض حقوق بشر مي گوييم، سخن از بهروز جاويد تهراني که نام وي تداعي کنندۀ اراده و درد در ذهن ماست جواني که سالها در راه آزادي و سعادت ملت خود، از خود گذشته و دردها را با اراده آهنين و مظلومانه و قهرمانانه به دوش مي کشد، فريادهاي آزاديخواهي وي هنوز در اذهان شنوندگان آن طنين انداز است. سالهاي طولاني زندان، چشم آسيب ديده، دندانهاي شکسته، ديسک کمرو مشکلات گوارشي و کليوي و بسياري مشکلات جسمي ديگر، لگدمال کردن نام انسانيت و مقام انسانيت از سوي رژيم استبداد که بر پيکر بهروز جاويد تهراني خود مي نماياند. هيچ يک از دردها تاثيري بر اراده آهنين وي نگذاشته است."
در اين بيانيه آمده است: "ما زندانيان سياسي امضا کنندۀ اين بيانيه، حرکت مذبوحانه و غير انساني رژيم را که بر خلاف تمامي معاهدات و کنوانسيون هاي بين المللي ميباشد قويا محکوم مينماييم و تاکيد مي کنيم که جاويد تهراني به استناد قوانين الزام آور بين المللي بايد فورا و بدون قيد و شرط از سلول انفرادي خارج گردد."
همچنين کيوان رفيعي در حمايت از بهروز جاويد تهراني، از روز گذشته به مدت يک هفته دست به اعتصاب غذا زده است.
بهروز جاويد تهراني، پيش از اين نيز چندين بار در زندان مورد ضرب و شتم قرار گرفته، بطوريکه سال گذشته بر اثر همين ضرب و شتم ها از ناحيه سر و صورت مجروح شد و يکي از دندانهايش شکست. او همچنين طي مدت بازجوئي در بند 209 وزارت اطلاعات چندين بار شکنجه شد.
اين زنداني سياسي آخرين بار در تجمع خانواده هاي زندانيان سياسي در برابر دفتر سازمان ملل متحد در تهران دستگير و سپس در شعبه 26 دادگاه انقلاب و به درخواست وزارت اطلاعات به 7 سال زندان محکوم شد.
کارزار آزادي بهروز جاويد تهراني با تاکيد بر اينکه زندانيان سياسي در زندان رجايي شهر کرج در خطر حذف فيزيکي قرار دارند، از تمامي سازمان ها، گروه ها و مدافعان حقوق بشر در
سراسر دنيا خواست براي آزادي زندانيان سياسي اقدام کنند.
Below is the translation of a letter written by Behrouz Javid Tehrani. (For the original letter in farsi click on the title of this post) The translation may not be perfect as I am not a profesional translater but it is pretty accurate. I felt it was important for people to read his letter and to keep him in our toughts. He has also asked people to write to him in prison, so if that is something you are interested in you can find his address at the bottom of the page. If you do decide to write make sure to write neutral messages such as "you are in my thoughts" or " Stay Strong" so as not to cause him any trouble with the authorities.
I wrote a profile on Behrouz Tehrani about a year ago and its floating on the internet, I will find it and post it on the blog just to give everyone some background info about him.
Translation of Letter by Behrouz Javid Tehrani
It has been more then two years since I, Behrouz Javid Tehrani have been imprisoned. When two years ago the intelligence ministry agents raided my home and savagely attacked myself and my good friend Keyvan Rafai, subjecting us to severe beatings I know that I had committed no crime and that I would be acquitted.
I was a human rights activist and had not committed any criminal offence, however the Ministry of Intelligence accused me of being involved with the Mojahedin Khalq ( an armed opposition group), when they very well knew that I was just a human rights activist.
The only piece of evidence they had to support this charge was the fat that I had found a letter written by a political prisoner who was executed in the 1980's mass executions, in the crack of my cell (in S.209 of the Evin Prison) and had widely published it on the internet as well as on certain American and European sites.
With the help of my lawyer and by maintaining my innocence I was acquitted of all charges against me except one. I was charged with participating in a demonstration in front of the UN building in Tehran. A gathering whose organizers are free and have never been charged, but many participants including the wife of Mr. Amir Heshmat Saran and the Wife of Mr. Omid Abbas GholiNejad (whose husbands were political prisoners at that time) as well as Ms. Shiva NazarAhari and a number of other women whose names escapes me as well as many others such as myself, Ali and Mohammad Tabarzadi (two sons of Heshmat Tabarzadi), Bina Darabzand, Dr. Farzad Hamidi, Hassan Ghysari were arrested.
Thankfully among the 100's of people who were arrested all were eventually released except myself. It is Ironic that I was arrested by the Intelligence Services before ever making it to the site of the demonstration and the UN building. Due to this reason the Judiciary had no choice but to acquit me, however due to the lack of independence of the Judiciary and the pressure put on them by the Ministry of Intelligence they did not let me go.
The Judge at my trial Judge Hedad told me that I ad been sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment when I was originally arrested in 1999 for my participation in the July 1999 student demonstrations as well as for insulting the Supreme Leader Khamenei. According to him however the Supreme Leader had had mercy on me and reduced my sentence to four years (which I served from 1999-2003). However now he had changed his mind and I would have to serve the full 8 years.
The Judge also informed me that he would sentence me to 70 or 80 or even 100 lashes so that my sins will be forgiven and so that I would not be motivated to write letters or do any human rights activities while in prison. Shocked, I asked him "why lashes? Democracy, Freedom and Human Rights are what I believe in and what is in my mind, why do you have to destroy my back? "
Dear Friends, I am writing all of this for you so that you can know that I am still considered to be one of the prisoners of the famous July 1999 student demonstrations.
Long Live Iran
Behrouz Javid Tehrani
Please write to me at:
Karaj, Zendane Rajai Shahr (Gohardasht), Andarzgah 2, Salone 5 Faree
Here is a profile on Behrouz Javid Tehrani which I wrote about a year ago, just to give a little bit of background on who he is.
Behrouz Javid Tehrani is a 27 year old student activist struggling towards democracy in Iran. Mr. Tehrani has spent more than four years of his life in prison simply because of his belief in freedom and democracy.
He was first arrested at the age of 22 during the July 9, 1999 student uprising. After his arrest he spent 10 months in solitary confinement inside cell block 209 of the notorious Evin Prison. This is the prison where political prisoners are taken to be tortured, have their spirits broken, and even murdered at the hands of the regime agents. It is the same prison where Canadian Journalist Zahra Kazemi was murdered. Mr. Tehrani was tortured mercilessly for 10 months before being transferred to another prison. He was handcuffed, hanged upside down while the jailers bet the soles of his feet with metal cables.
In an Interview with a Canadian Journalist Michael Petrou Mr. Tehrani stated that after two months of solitary confinement and torture a judge walked into his cell, spoke to him for about three minutes, and sentenced him to eight years of imprisonment. The sentence was later reduced to four years.
45 days before Mr. Tehrani was to be released his mother became extremely ill. He was not allowed to visit her and unfortunately she passed away without having a chance to see her son. He was not allowed to attend the funeral and told Mr. Petrou that it broke him. He was finally released in 2003.
It was April of 2004 when Mr. Tehrani met with Mr. Petrou to discuss the current state of student opposition movement inside Iran. He knew he may very well be risking his life meeting with a foreign journalist. There was great likelihood that he could have been charged with the crime of "risking national security," a crime with an extremely heavy sentence which may even include death.
He was arrested in May 2004 immediately after the story about him was published in the Ottawa Citizen. He was released a few days later only to be re-arrested while trying to protest in front of the United Nations building. He was attempting to bring attention to the plight of political prisoners and their families in Iran. Again he was released a few days later until he was arrested once again during the clashes of July 8th student protests.
Once in prison Mr. Tehrani immediately joined a hunger strike already in process protesting the inhumane treatment of political prisoners and their families. After being on hunger strike for two weeks, his health deteriorated to the point where he had to be taken for treatment.
Mr. Tehrani has remained in prison since July 2004 under extremely brutal conditions. Most recently Mr. Tehrani along with two other student activists Mr. Asad Shaghagi, and Mr. Hojat Zamani have been on hunger strike since November 15th 2005, protesting the grotesque treatment of political prisoners and their families in Iran.
No other information is currently available regarding Mr. Tehrani's condition, but there is great concern for his health and well being.
Politically active students in Iran are fighting to continue their studies after being blacklisted. Saeed Kamali Dehghan reports0 comments - published on Sunday, April 29, 2007
Politically active students in Iran are fighting to continue their studies after being blacklisted. Saeed Kamali Dehghan reports
Iran's "starred" students - politically active university students barred from continuing with their studies - are desperately trying to obtain the right to go on with their education.
(AKI) - Police in the Iranian capital Tehran are cracking down on underground musical groups in a 'moralization' campaign which kicked off over the weekend. Security officials carried out raids on three unauthorized recording studios and arrested six members of three diferrent rap and rock groups who had not received the green light to play from the ministry of culture and Islamic orientation. Among those arrested is a top rapper, Reza Pishro, who is very popular among young Iranians. His illegally sold CDs are best selling hits across the country.
Iran Focus
Tehran, Iran, Apr. 26 – Two men were hanged in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison, the state-run daily Tehran Emrouz reported on Thursday.
The two men were identified only by their first names Ali and Reza.
They were hanged inside the prison on Wednesday, the report said, adding they were charged with drug trafficking.
Iranian authorities routinely execute dissidents on bogus charges such as armed robbery and drug smuggling.
Iranian-marked rockets, mortars discovered in Iraq raid – U.S.0 comments - published on Sunday, April 29, 2007
Iran Focus
London, Apr. 28 - The U.S.-led Coalition in Iraq announced on Saturday that it had discovered Iranian-marked rockets and mortars in a raid on an apartment complex in the Iraqi city of Mahmudiyah.
Iran: Female child offender's death sentence confirmed2 comments - published on Sunday, April 29, 2007
Iran: Female child offender's death sentence confirmed
Source: Amnesty International
Delara Darabi's death sentence has been confirmed by the Supreme Court, according to a 25 April report in the newspaper Etemad. The verdict has apparently been sent to the office of the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi, for consideration
Iran to attend Iraq security conference alongside US0 comments - published on Sunday, April 29, 2007
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran announced on Sunday that it will attend a key conference on Iraq's security in Egypt alongside arch-enemy the United States this week, ending weeks of uncertainty over its involvement.
Here is a profile on Behrouz Javid Tehrani which I wrote about a year ago, just to give a little bit of background on who he is.
Behrouz Javid Tehrani is a 27 year old student activist struggling towards democracy in Iran. Mr. Tehrani has spent more than four years of his life in prison simply because of his belief in freedom and democracy.
He was first arrested at the age of 22 during the July 9, 1999 student uprising. After his arrest he spent 10 months in solitary confinement inside cell block 209 of the notorious Evin Prison. This is the prison where political prisoners are taken to be tortured, have their spirits broken, and even murdered at the hands of the regime agents. It is the same prison where Canadian Journalist Zahra Kazemi was murdered. Mr. Tehrani was tortured mercilessly for 10 months before being transferred to another prison. He was handcuffed, hanged upside down while the jailers bet the soles of his feet with metal cables.
In an Interview with a Canadian Journalist Michael Petrou Mr. Tehrani stated that after two months of solitary confinement and torture a judge walked into his cell, spoke to him for about three minutes, and sentenced him to eight years of imprisonment. The sentence was later reduced to four years.
45 days before Mr. Tehrani was to be released his mother became extremely ill. He was not allowed to visit her and unfortunately she passed away without having a chance to see her son. He was not allowed to attend the funeral and told Mr. Petrou that it broke him. He was finally released in 2003.
It was April of 2004 when Mr. Tehrani met with Mr. Petrou to discuss the current state of student opposition movement inside Iran. He knew he may very well be risking his life meeting with a foreign journalist. There was great likelihood that he could have been charged with the crime of "risking national security," a crime with an extremely heavy sentence which may even include death.
He was arrested in May 2004 immediately after the story about him was published in the Ottawa Citizen. He was released a few days later only to be re-arrested while trying to protest in front of the United Nations building. He was attempting to bring attention to the plight of political prisoners and their families in Iran. Again he was released a few days later until he was arrested once again during the clashes of July 8th student protests.
Once in prison Mr. Tehrani immediately joined a hunger strike already in process protesting the inhumane treatment of political prisoners and their families. After being on hunger strike for two weeks, his health deteriorated to the point where he had to be taken for treatment.
Mr. Tehrani has remained in prison since July 2004 under extremely brutal conditions. Most recently Mr. Tehrani along with two other student activists Mr. Asad Shaghagi, and Mr. Hojat Zamani have been on hunger strike since November 15th 2005, protesting the grotesque treatment of political prisoners and their families in Iran.
No other information is currently available regarding Mr. Tehrani's condition, but there is great concern for his health and well being.
Thousands of Iranian women have been cautioned over their poor Islamic dress this week and several hundred arrested in the capital Tehran in the most fierce crackdown on what's known as "bad hijab" for more than a decade.
It is the talk of the town. The latest police crackdown on Islamic dress has angered many Iranians - male, female, young and old.
IRVING, Texas - Fred Thompson, the politician and actor considering a White House bid, said Friday he favors helping the Iranian people overthrow the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad if the chance arises.
The former Tennessee senator accused Tehran of "playing a larger part in killing our soldiers" in neighboring Iraq.
Many Iranians don't like their government, "and I think we ought to capitalize on that," Thompson told The Associated Press. "There is a chance they may mobilize themselves, and we need to assist them if that happens."
The United States military announced on Friday that it had arrested four "suspected terrorists" with links to Iran during an operation in the Baghdad0 comments - published on Saturday, April 28, 2007
London, Apr. 28 –
In a statement, the Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF-I) said that the individuals targeted during the raid were suspected members of a "secret cell terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran to Iraq, as well as bringing militants from Iraq to Iran for terrorist training".
Friday, April 27, 2007 - ?2005 IranMania.com
LONDON, April 27 (IranMania) - Two more international banks--Singapore?s CBS and Austria?s Bawag--have severed ties with Iran in compliance with UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic for its nuclear program, reported AKI.
CBS, Singapore?s largest financial institution in a letter to its Iranian clients informed them they have ten days in which to withdraw their deposits and close their accounts.
LONDON, April 27 (IranMania) - A majority of lawmakers voiced their support for the police plan to combat social corruptions and moral insecurities.
In a letter to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 203 members of parliament called for the continuation of this plan by the Interior Ministry and the Islamic Republic of Iran Police, IRNA report
LONDON, April 27 (IranMania) - According to the statistics of the Health Ministry, 80% of Iranians suffer from malnutrition.
Seyyed Ziaeddin Mazhari, the head of Iran?s Food and Nutrition Institute, declared the figure while addressing a conference dubbed ?Health and Its Role in Workforce Productivity?, which was organized by State Welfare Organization.
The health expert also said 30 percent of the Iranian population are suffering from anemia, IRNA reported.
'Iran's Quds Force helped kill 5 US troops in Iraq'0 comments - published on Friday, April 27, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
US General David Petraeus, head of the coalition forces in Iraq, accused Iran's secretive Quds Force Thursday of helping an armed network that killed five US soldiers in January in the Shiite shrine city of Kerbala. Petraeus acknowledged in Washington that a complex and "very tough" situation existed in Iraq, but also accused Iran's Quds Force of helping an Iraqi network to murder five US soldiers in Kerbala.
How Iran's Revolutionaries Egged On Attacks in Iraq0 comments - published on Friday, April 27, 2007
By ELI LAKE
Special to the Sun
April 27, 2007
BAGHDAD — The commander of the foreign operations wing of Iran's Revolutionary Guard met with Sunni Kurdish jihadist leaders in April 2005 to encourage them to launch attacks in Iraq.
News of the meeting was disclosed Tuesday in an interview with Osman Ali Mustapha, a former Kurdish police officer who was recruited by Iranian intelligence in 2004 to spy on American bases and eventually help facilitate the assassination of a Kurdish police chief in Halabja.
CBS News has learned that a new intelligence report says Iran has overcome technical difficulties in enriching uranium and could have enough bomb-grade material for a single nuclear weapon in less than three years.
U.S. intelligence officials caution that before Iran could meet or beat that 2010 date, it would have to make further technical progress in operating a uranium enrichment plant now under construction, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin.
by Hiedeh Farmani
Thu Apr 26
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran has overruled critics and started filling a new dam in the parched south of the country that will drown an ancient archaeological site and could threaten the tomb of Cyrus the Great.
Iran says nearing unity with EU in some nuclear areas0 comments - published on Friday, April 27, 2007
ANKARA (Reuters) - Iran's nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said on Thursday Iran and the EU were nearing "a united view" in some areas of their talks and new ideas were raised to break an international impasse over Tehran's atomic program.
By Alex Spillius in Washington
Last Updated: 4:07am BST 26/04/2007
President George W Bush has said his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice could hold informal talks with Iranian leaders at an international conference on Iraq next week, signalling a significant shift in the US administration's stance towards the Islamic republic.
In a television interview, Mr Bush said Miss Rice could meet her Iranian counterpart on the sidelines of the conference being held in Egypt.
Tehran, April 26: Iran will strike US interests around the world and Israel if attacked over its disputed nuclear programme, a senior official was quoted on Thursday by the official IRNA news agency as saying. "Nowhere would be safe for America with Iran's long-range missiles. We can fire tens of thousands of missiles every day," said Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr, the Deputy Interior Minister in Security Affairs.
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran has overruled critics and started filling a new dam in the parched south of the country that will drown an ancient archaeological site and could threaten the tomb of Cyrus the Great. Thousands of activists have rallied and petitioned the government not to flood the dam, which is only seven kilometres (four miles) from Pasargadae -- the first capital of the Persian Empire.
ANKARA, Turkey - Iran's top nuclear negotiator said Thursday that talks with a senior EU official had brought them closer to "a united view" of how to break a deadlock over Tehran's defiance of a U.N. Security Council demand to freeze uranium enrichment.
ANKARA (Reuters) Iran said it expected the EU to float new ideas at talks on Wednesday to try to end a standoff over Tehran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment that the West fears could be used for nuclear weapons. Hopes for a breakthrough between Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana were dampened in the run-up by a new Iranian vow not to stop enrichment despite sanctions pressure from the U.N. Security Council
Iran says will strike U.S., Israel if attacked: agency0 comments - published on Thursday, April 26, 2007
"Nowhere would be safe for America with (Iran's) long-range missiles ... we can fire tens of thousands of missiles every day," said Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr, the deputy interior minister in security affairs.
"With long-range missiles Iran can also threaten Israel as America's ally." Iran says its Shahab-3 missile with a range of 1,250 miles is capable of hitting Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf
Wed 25 Apr 2007
By Mark Heinrich
ANKARA (Reuters) - The EU and Iran hold talks on Tehran's nuclear programme on Wednesday but analysts say progress is unlikely after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed not to halt the project to win a suspension of U.N. sanctions.
25 Apr, 2007 l 0232 hrs ISTlAFP]
TEHRAN: Iran's latest crackdown on badly-veiled women to make them obey Islamic dress rules has found an unlikely critic in the hardline head of its judiciary, press reports said on Tuesday.
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, who is appointed by the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned police against heavy-handed actions against women found to have broken the rules.
The Associated Press
Tuesday, April 24, 2007; 7:04 PM
NEW YORK -- President Bush said Tuesday that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice might have one-on-one talks with Iranian leaders at an international conference on Iraq next month, but that Tehran's nuclear program would not be on the table.
In an interview, Bush initially appeared to rule out any contact with Iran, a member of his "axis of evil."
April 24, 2007, RFE/RL -- Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad says he's ready to hold direct negotations with U.S. President George W. Bush.
Ahmadinejad was quoted on the website of Iranian state-run, Arabic-language Al-Alam television as saying he is ready to negotiate with Bush about U.S.-Iranian bilateral issues as well as regional and international issues.
The Iranian leader said he wanted any talks with Bush to be attended by the media.
Politically active students in Iran are fighting to continue their studies after being blacklisted. Saeed Kamali Dehghan reports
Tuesday April 24, 2007
The Guardian
Iran's "starred" students - politically active university students barred from continuing with their studies - are desperately trying to obtain the right to go on with their education. Undergraduates who have criticised the government are given one to three penalty points, according to the possible threat they are said to pose. About 150 students are currently starred.
Politically active students in Iran are fighting to continue their studies after being blacklisted. Saeed Kamali Dehghan reports
Tuesday April 24, 2007
The Guardian
Iran's "starred" students - politically active university students barred from continuing with their studies - are desperately trying to obtain the right to go on with their education. Undergraduates who have criticised the government are given one to three penalty points, according to the possible threat they are said to pose. About 150 students are currently starred.
Two thousand young men in Iran have protested against new clothing curbs, reports say, amid growing discontent about a crackdown on un-Islamic dress.
Shiraz university students were angry about new rules banning sleeveless T-shirts, even inside all-male dorms.
Iran Journalists Call For Colleague's Release
April 23, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- More than 250 Iranian journalists have called in an open letter to Iran's top judiciary official for the release of jailed colleague Ali Farahbakhsh, Radio Farda reported.
Iranian Students Protest Against New Rules - More than 2,000 university students are protesting against the tightening of rules on student's behavior and dress, Radio Farda reported. The demonstration began in Shiraz University on April 22 after new rules were announced, including a ban on shorts and tank tops for boys in the dormitories. 4/24/07
US holds firm on nuclear freeze ahead of Iran-EU meeting0 comments - published on Tuesday, April 24, 2007
WASHINGTON (AFP) - On the eve of talks between EU and Iranian officials on Iran's controversial nuclear program, the United States held firm Tuesday to demands that Iran freeze all its uranium enrichment activities.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's unwavering defiance over its nuclear program has further dampened hopes of a breakthrough at talks with the European Union on Wednesday.
ANKARA, Turkey - The United States and other world powers may be ready to allow Iran to keep some of its uranium enrichment program intact instead of demanding its complete dismantling, foreign government officials said Tuesday.
TEHRAN/LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad poured cold water on Monday on prospects of a breakthrough in nuclear talks with t0 comments - published on Monday, April 23, 2007
Solana announced that he would meet Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani in Ankara, Turkey on Wednesday, their first meeting since February.
WASHINGTON - The United States has imposed sanctions on 14 foreign people, companies and government agencies, including the Syrian navy and air force, as it boosts efforts to stop transfers of advanced weaponry to and from Iran and Syria. The 14 — which also include Lebanon's radical Hezbollah movement and firms from China, Malaysia, Mexico and Singapore — are accused of selling to or buying from Iran or Syria missile technology or material to make weapons of mass destruction
Iran may be holding ex-FBI agent, U.S. official says0 comments - published on Monday, April 23, 2007
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States believes it is possible Iran is holding a former FBI agent who has been missing since March, a senior U.S. State Department official said on Monday but gave no evidence to support the statement
Iran says US showing signs of softening towards Tehran1 comments - published on Sunday, April 22, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
* Rules out nuclear suspension ahead of EU talks
* Says UN has no right to stop enrichment
TEHRAN: The United States is showing signs of softening its attitude towards Iran, an Iranian official said on Sunday, but added that Tehran had not yet decided to attend a meeting on Iraq with senior US officials.
Monday, April 23, 2007
JERUSALEM: Israel's arch-foe Iran is still a long way from acquiring technology necessary to produce nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told public radio in an interview aired on Sunday.
Sunday April 22, 2007
LOS ANGELES - A former engineer at the largest US nuclear power plant was arrested on suspicion of taking software codes and using them to download details of plant control rooms and reactors while in Iran, officials said today.
The software involved was used to train plant operators and there was no indication of a terrorist connection, said Deborah McCarley, an FBI spokeswoman in Phoenix.
The FBI arrested Mohammad Alavi, who worked at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station outside Phoenix, earlier this month at Los Angeles International Airport when he arrived on a flight from Iran, she said.
Sun Apr 22, 4:03 AM ET
JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday that there was still time for international diplomatic efforts to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, without the need for military action. "I believe the international efforts will achieve the goals," Olmert said. "There is no need to get caught up in any apocalyptic prophecies that have no basis in reality."
Sun Apr 22, 12:45 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. efforts to force Iran to change its behavior have expanded beyond the White House to Main Street and threaten the broadest financial disinvestment campaign since South African apartheid ended
Momentum is growing for a movement that encourages Americans to withdraw investments in companies doing business with the Islamic republic,
Sun Apr 22, 3:02 PM ET
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian contractor building Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station said on Sunday the two sides had signed a protocol outlining what measures should be taken to guarantee payments for the project.
by Farhad Pouladi
Sun Apr 22, 5:31 PM ET
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran has issued more than a thousand warnings and arrested dozens in a new drive aimed at forcing women whose dress is deemed inappropriate to adhere to Islamic dress rules, officials said Sunday.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran expressed hope on Sunday that talks with a senior EU official next week could lead to a solution to its row with the West, but made clear it would not halt a nuclear fuel enrichment program, which the West fears could produce an atomic bomb.
IRAN: UNIVERSITY FEMALE STUDENTS REBEL AGAINST VEIL74 comments - published on Saturday, April 21, 2007
Female students at Tehran Polytechnic University, where students protested against Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a visit last December crying 'dictator go away' and throwing firecrackers, are staging a major protest against new regulations enabling police as of 21 April to arrest women who do not abide by the Islamic dress code. A group of 700 female students organized a rally on campus and signed a letter to the dean calling the new rules "an offence to the dignity of women" and accusing him of "wanting to extend to academia the sexual apartheid imposed by the government on Iranian society."
Authorities immediately reacted on Thursday withdrawing the students' university ID cards which are mandatory to access campus and classes.
British court approves extradition to US of Iranian diplomat0 comments - published on Saturday, April 21, 2007
LONDON (AFP) - A British court ruled in favour of an extradition request Thursday against an Iranian diplomat accused by the United States of smuggling US military hardware to Iran
Nosratollah Tajik, a former Iranian ambassador to Jordan, was arrested on October 26 in his home in Durham, where he was a teacher at an Islamic studies institute.
All Adam's race are members of one frame;
Since all, at first, from the same essence came.
When by hard fortune one limb is oppressed,
The other members lose their wonted rest:
If thou feel'st not for others' misery,
A son of Adam is no name for thee.
TEHRAN, April 20 (Mehr News Agency) -- April 21 marks the National Saadi Day in which Iranians commemorate Sheikh Moleh od-Din Saadi (c. 1213-1291), one of the greatest figures in classical Persian literature.
Envoy denies US claim on discovery of Iranian weapons in Kandahar0 comments - published on Saturday, April 21, 2007
Kabul, April 19, IRNA - Iranian Ambassador to Kabul Mohammad-Reza Bahrami denied the US claim on discovery of some Iranian made weapons and ammunition in Kandahar province to the south of Afghanistan
WASHINGTON, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Friday welcomed an agreement by Iran and the European Union to resume talks over Iran's nuclear program.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana agreed during a phone talk on Thursday to resume nuclear talks on April 25.
"Certainly we support those continued contacts between Mr Solana and Mr Larijani," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.
Iran says UN has no right to stop enrichment plans0 comments - published on Saturday, April 21, 2007
By Ivan Castro
Sat Apr 21, 11:50 PM ET
MANAGUA (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister said on Saturday the U.N. Security Council, which has passed two sanctions resolutions on Iran since December, had no right to stop it enriching uranium.
Republican McCain defends his musical `Bomb Iran' frolic1 comments - published on Saturday, April 21, 2007
Saturday, Apr 21, 2007,
Republican presidential contender Senator John McCain has a message for any critics who thought his musical joke about bombing Iran was not funny: Get a life.
While campaigning for next year's elections in South Carolina on Wednesday, McCain responded to a question about how to deal with Iran by breaking into the melody of the Beach Boys song Barbara Ann but changing the lyrics to "Bomb Iran."
TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian engineers began filling a new dam Thursday as archaeologists warned that its reservoir will flood newly discovered antiquities and could damage Iran's grandest site, the ancient Persian capital of Persepolis
Iran: Imprisoned Members of the One Million Signatures Campaign Released0 comments - published on Friday, April 20, 2007
After posting bail, Mahboubeh Hossein Zadeh and Nahid Keshavarz were released, Sunday evening, April 15, 2007. These members of the One Million Signatures Campaign, which aims to change discriminatory laws against women, were arrested on April 2nd, along with three others, while collecting signatures in support of the Campaign. 4/19/07
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana will meet next Wednesday for talks on the dispute over Tehran's nuclear program, an EU official said on Friday.
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's Supreme Court has overturned a death sentence against a hard-line Islamic vigilante for murdering a couple for immoral be0 comments - published on Thursday, April 19, 2007
one of the victims' lawyers said Thursday.
Ali Maleki, with the help of several accomplices, drowned Reza Nejadmalayeri and his fiance, Shohreh Nikpour, in a small pool in 2002 on the belief they had violated rules against contact between unmarried men and women. The killings occurred near Kerman, a city some 620 miles southeast of the capital, Tehran.
The Washington Times Thu. 19 Apr 2007
By Steve Hirsch
Bush administration officials yesterday told lawmakers that U.S. sanctions against Iran, North Korea and other countries with ties to weapons of mass destruction and terrorism have had significant results.
Senior Treasury and State department officials told a joint subcommittee hearing that the administration's sanctions have been a useful tool in efforts to get these regimes to change their behavior, although House lawmakers criticized the administration's approach.
The United States has instituted a number of economic actions to help stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Treasury Department officials said.
VIENNA, Austria - Iran is delivering small amounts of uranium gas to centrifuges that can enrich it to weapons-grade level and is running more than 1,300 centrifuge machines, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency document obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.
Iran: U.S. State Department Spokesman Discusses Relations0 comments - published on Thursday, April 19, 2007
WASHINGTON, April 18, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Sean McCormack is the principal spokesman of the U.S. State Department. Radio Farda correspondent Parichehr Farzam spoke with McCormack about U.S. policies regarding Iran and the prospects for improved relations
Nahid Keshavarz writes from Evin prison: What will they do about the Growing Awarness among female Prisoners and their Guards?0 comments - published on Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Women's Rights Activists, Nahid Keshavarz and Mahboubeh Hossein Zadeh, who remain in prison since April 2, 2007 for collecting signatures in support of the "One Million Signatures Campaign" demanding changes to discriminatory laws against women, have recorded their experiences among female inmates. Here is what Nahid Keshavarz has to say.
LONDON, April 18 (IranMania) - Iran hardline government will next week launch an annual summer crackdown on women, as well as men, whose dress is deemed to be out of line with its Islamic laws, the media reported, according to an AFP report.
The head of the teachers union in Iran has been arrested0 comments - published on Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Tehran, Iran, Apr. 17 – The head of the teachers union in Iran has been arrested for his role in union protests that have brought schools and universities to a standstill in recent weeks in several Iranian provinces.
Ali-Akbar Baghani was arrested by plainclothes security agents at 9.30 am on Monday as he was teaching in Tehran, state-run news agencies reported. The arrest came as a shock to pupils in the class who were in the middle of an examination.
The arrest took place without prior coordination with the school principal.
There has been a surge in anti-government teachers demonstrations in Iran over the past few weeks, mostly in protest to low salaries.
Some sources in Tehran have claimed that up to 1,000 teachers have been arrested in the course of the protests.
April 18, 2007
WASHINGTON — U.S.-led coalition forces in southern Afghanistan recently intercepted Iranian-made weapons that were being shipped to fighters for the Taliban, historically regional rivals of Tehran, the Pentagon's top general said Tuesday.
Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the munitions, which included mortars and C-4 explosives, were captured within the last month near the city of Kandahar,
Iran will "cut off hand" of any attacker: Ahmadinejad0 comments - published on Wednesday, April 18, 2007
By Hossein Jasseb
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's army will "cut off the hand" of any attacker and is at the ready to fulfill its defensive duties, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday during an annual military parade.
Iran is embroiled in a row with the West over its nuclear ambitions. The United States, which says Iran is trying to build an atomic bomb, has said it wants a diplomatic resolution to the standoff but has not ruled out military action if that fails.
TEHRAN, Iran - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that U.N. sanctions slapped on his nation over its nuclear program had no effect on Iran's armed forces, claiming that his military was self-sufficient.
Contemporary Fashion, Islamic Ideology, and the Ambiguities of Identity0 comments - published on Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Majid Mohammadi
April 2007- Farvardin 1386 - Cultural Heritage and Iranian Identity
"Today's young generation, in particular, has rebelled against the traditions of its forefathers, who were generally inclined towards simple living and abstinence. This young generation wishes to derive maximum enjoyment from life, even under very restrictive conditions. Naturally, this zest for life and emphasis on the present is not restricted to the home and family. It seeps out of the tight boundaries into the public arena, as defined by the ruling ideology and clergy. This is why, according to the regime's perspective, the wearing of shorter outer robes or capri pants in public spaces is considered a symbol of opposition to Islamic ideology and therefore not tolerated."
RSF deplores new crackdown on women journalists in Iran0 comments - published on Tuesday, April 17, 2007
RSF deplores new crackdown on women journalists in Iran
Source: Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
There has been a new crackdown on women journalists since the start of the month, with two being arrested and held for nearly two weeks, five being summoned before the Tehran revolutionary court and one, who works for the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), being barred from leaving the country.
"The regime is taking a tougher line with women journalists," the press freedom organisation said. "These measures are illegal and contrary to national and international legal standards. We call on the Iranian authorities to put a stop to the political and legal harassment of the media."
Mahboubeh Hosseinzadeh writes from Evin prison: All Women are Victims, not Just those in Prison - Women's0 comments - published on Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Rights Activists, Mahboubeh Hossein Zadeh and Nahid Keshavarz, who remain in prison since April 2, 2007 for collecting signatures in support of the "One Million Signatures Campaign" demanding changes to discriminatory laws against women, have recorded their experiences among female inmates. Here is what Mahboubeh Hossein Zadeh has to say. 4/17/07
Mahboubeh Hosseinzadeh
"Our husbands are lying in enclosed graves and we are in open graves. We too ceased to live the very day that we killed our husbands." These are the words of a woman who spends her nights on the three story bed across from me. Her nights are filled with nightmares about the death of her husband—a husband she stabbed to death.
This is Evin prison—the women's ward. Nahid and I do not fully comprehend which national security we have undermined, nonetheless with this charge we spend our days in limbo in the midst of these women. Ten of the 16 women with whom we have shared a cell for over a week, are here on charges of murdering their husbands. These women, having lost faith in a legal system that offers no hope and no protection, weave their days to the darkness of the night that lingers behind the tall walls of Evin. If our laws had the capacity to defend women charged with murder, they would not be here now, spending their time idly in waiting for the day that would swallow them—a term used by female inmates to describe execution day.
These women, they all seem kind and patient to me. They are women forced into marriages they did not choose, women who were forcibly married off at the age of 13 and 14, women whose husbands were chosen by their fathers…one of these women was forced into marriage through physical violence bestowed upon her by her father, who slapped her repeatedly until she accepted her fate. Until she accepted to marry a man who was 45 years her senior. Another woman continues to have nightmares about that doomed day four years ago, when she took matters into her own hands and murdered her husband. She worries about her daughters whom she turned over the state welfare organization for care. Others too, have similar stories.
Woman, mother, requests for divorce, discriminatory laws, murderers…all but one of them is under 40 years of age. She asks "why doesn't anyone listen to our problems or pains?" "Where was the judge when my husband forced me onto the streets, into prostitution, in an effort to earn enough money to support his habit of addiction? What is one to do? Which laws were meant to support me? Which laws were intended to save me? Why didn't the judge listen to my pleas? I grew weary. The law provided me with no refuge. I defended myself. Yes! I killed him!"
Another woman explains "my father said that we will lose face. I cried. I asked my father didn't you marry me off by force at age 13? Now I want a divorce. My father refused. But when I saw my husband that night with another woman, in my own bed, I could no longer take the abuse." The victims are not just the women with whom I share a cell. The victims are all women in this land.............
Iran vows to boost atom capacity despite sanctions0 comments - published on Tuesday, April 17, 2007
TEHRAN (Reuters) -
Iran vowed on Tuesday to press ahead with plans to sharply increase its capacity to enrich uranium, defying international pressure to halt activities the West fears are aimed at making nuclear bombs.
It took Europe months to get American support for its strategy of negotiating with Iran. Tehran's latest announcement that it can enrich uranium on an industrial scale shows that the EU course has failed.
TEHRAN, Iran - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday warned that Iran would respond to additional U.N. sanctions with new nuclear advances, in yet another show of defiance to international demands that the country roll back its atomic program.
WASHINGTON - The United States has made a third appeal to the Iranian government for information about a former FBI agent who has been missing in Iran for more than a month.
AMMAN (AFP) - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Jordan on Monday at the start of a Middle East tour which American officials said is aimed at countering Iran's growing influence in the region.
Mon, 16 Apr 2007
Tehran - Iran Monday released two Swedes who had been held on charges of espionage, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said. The IRNA state news agency quoted the spokesman as saying the two were pardoned after intervention by the judiciary and constant diplomatic contacts between Tehran and Stockholm.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran will announce unspecified new "nuclear achievements" if the United Nations takes fresh steps against it over its disputed atomic program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday.
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran said Sunday it was investigating claims made by the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that one of its journalists has been prevented by authorities from leaving the country.
By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran said Sunday it is seeking bids for the building of two more nuclear power plants, despite international pressures to curb its controversial program.
Azerbaijan Expels Iranian Dissident To Tehran
April 13, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Azerbaijan has expelled an Iranian dissident, raising fears that he will face persecution in Iran because of his political activities, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reported
Hadi Seyed Javad Musavi, a member of a nationalist Azeri group inside Iran, the National Awakening Movement of Southern Azerbaijan,
Iranian Journalist Challenges Supreme Leader
Prominent Iranian journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi has challenged Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in an open letter in which he questioned why criticism of the supreme leader's actions and decisions is banned in Iran.
Teachers Arrested for Peaceful Assembly and Association
(New York, April 14, 2007) – The Iranian authorities should immediately lift the ban on the Hamedan Teachers Association and release teachers detained as a result of their work with the association, Human Rights Watch said today.
The government's banning of the Hamedan Teachers Association and the arrest of its members demonstrate Iran's flagrant disregard for its own laws and its obligations under international human rights law.
Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch
The Hamedan Teachers Association is one of 34 local professional organizations that work under the umbrella of the National Council of Teachers Association. During the last two months, Teachers Associations nationwide have been active in organizing peaceful demonstrations to rally the government for better wages and benefits. As a result of these activities, Iranian authorities have banned the Hamedan Teachers Association, cracked down on these gatherings, and have arrested teachers in several cities.
"The government's banning of the Hamedan Teachers Association and the arrest of its members demonstrate Iran's flagrant disregard for its own laws and its obligations under international human rights law," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration decided this week that it will hold onto five alleged Iranian intelligence agents for several more weeks, at least, instead of freeing them quickly on the heels of last week's release of 15 Britons who had been seized by Iran, U.S. officials said Friday.
WASHINGTON - The U.S. suspects Iran is providing weapons and other military support to both sides of the sectarian conflict in Iraq — not just to the Shiites who have historic ties to the Iranians, the No. 2 American commander in Iraq said Friday.
LONDON - Prime Minister Tony Blair will not fire government officials who allowed British service members held captive in Iran to sell their stories to the media, Blair's office said Friday, saying he will not engage "in a witch hunt."
Conflict with Iran 'not desirable', 'not inevitable': US0 comments - published on Friday, April 13, 2007
LONDON, April 13 (AFP) Apr 13, 2007
Diplomacy must be given time to work in the West's stand-off with Iran over its controversial nuclear programme, the US undersecretary of state for political affairs said on Thursday, adding that conflict with Iran was not "desirable" or "inevitable."
Speaking to the BBC, Nicholas Burns said that the West had to have a "degree of patience" with diplomacy if it was to work, adding that there is still time for a diplomatic solution to the impasse.
"We've got some time to work here, and I think if diplomacy is to be pursued, and is to be successful, then we have to have a degree of patience about it," Burns told the broadcaster.
"You can't just react in an emotional way when you're talking about very serious issues."
He continued: "Our view is that a military conflict is not desirable, and it is certainly not inevitable, and if we can work skilfully together ... then we may be successful. We ought to give that a try."
April 13, 2007
A FORMER FBI agent is being held by Iranian authorities, the Financial Times today quoted an associate of the missing American as saying.
Diplomats fear the case of Robert Levinson could mark a new twist in the round of apparent tit-for-tat detentions involving the US, Britain and Iran, which began with the detention by US forces in Iraq of five Iranians in January.
Washington has made an official inquiry to Iran about Mr Levinson, who US officials say went there on private business.
TONY Blair yesterday further distanced himself from Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, by stating that his office had nothing to do with the controversial decision to allow navy personnel captured by Iran to sell their stories to the media.
The decision, embarrassingly rescinded by Mr Browne on Monday, has caused considerable anger among members of the armed forces.
U.S. Suspects That Iran Aids Both Sunni and Shiite Militias0 comments - published on Friday, April 13, 2007
Arms that American military officials say appear to have been manufactured in Iran as recently as last year have turned up in the past week in a Sunni-majority area, the chief spokesman for the American military command in Iraq said Wednesday in a
An Iranian diplomat kidnapped in Iraq has appeared before journalists in Tehran, saying that a US official was present while his captors tortured him.
, April 13, 2007 By AP
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA -- Iran is still only operating several hundred centrifuges at its uranium enrichment plant outside the city of Natanz, despite its claims to have activated 3,000 of the devices, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency said yesterday.
Thursday, Apr 12, 2007,
A senior Iranian official yesterday dismissed doubts about whether Iran had achieved industrial-scale nuclear fuel production and said scepticism about its program had proved incorrect in the past.
"Maybe they thought we needed more time to reach the industrial stage but due to the efforts of our specialists we have already reached that stage," the deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Saeedi, said in comments carried by the Iranian state broadcaster's Web site.
Iran declared on Monday it had begun industrial enrichment of uranium, a process the West fears Iran is using to make bombs.
U.S. suspects that Iran aids both Sunni and Shiite militias0 comments - published on Thursday, April 12, 2007
The New York Times
By ALISSA J. RUBIN
Published: April 12, 2007
BAGHDAD, April 11 — Arms that American military officials say appear to have been manufactured in Iran as recently as last year have turned up in the past week in a Sunni-majority area, the chief spokesman for the American military command in Iraq said Wednesday in a news conference
By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer
Tue Apr 10, 4:40 PM ET
VIENNA, Austria - IsIran bluffing about the progress of its nuclear program? Experts and some world powers are expressing doubt that the country has been able to assemble the complicated system it needs to enrich uranium — a potential pathway to nuclear arms.
Iran may miss Iraq meet due to detainees: report0 comments - published on Wednesday, April 11, 2007
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran may not attend a multilateral conference on Iraq next month that includes the United States if U.S. forces do not release five Iranians it is holding there, a newspaper reported on Wednesday
By Gareth Smyth in Tehran
Published: April 10 2007 10:40 | Last updated: April 10 2007 10:40
Iran will press ahead with plans to install 50,000 centrifuges, devices used to enrich uranium for nuclear fuel, the country's top nuclear official said on Tuesday.
The British government expressed concern Monday over Iran's announcement that it has dramatically expanded its nuclear program.
In London, the British Foreign Office said Iran should suspend uranium enrichment immediately.
By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's foreign minister criticized U.N. Security Council inaction in the case of five Iranians detained by U.S. troops in Iraq, the Iranian state news agency said Monday.
NATANZ, Iran - Iran announced Monday that it has begun enriching uranium with 3,000 centrifuges, defiantly expanding a nuclear program that has drawn U.N. sanctions and condemnation from the West.
Iran to announce progress in nuclear program
By Reuters
Iran's president has promised to disclose news about Iran's nuclear program when he visits its uranium enrichment facility on Monday where the West says Iran is mastering the skills needed to make atomic bombs.
Iran has rejected UN demands to halt enrichment, a process than can make power plant fuel or material for warheads, and has instead vowed to expand what it insists is peaceful atomic work.
Mahboubeh Hosseinzadeh
& Nahid Keshavarz
On April 1, 2007, security forces arrested five women's rights activists who were planning to gather signatures for the One Million Signatures Campaign, a project aimed at collecting one million signatures to demand an end to discrimination against women in Iranian law. This includes a call for women's testimony in court to carry the same weight as that of men
Iran said on Sunday that any suspension of sensitive nuclear activities was not open to discussion, the day before President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to announce a major development on its atomic drive.
"We will not discuss the legitimate rights of Iran," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told a news conference
Iran captives disagree over cashing in on their stories0 comments - published on Sunday, April 08, 2007
Female sailor tells Sun she was threatened with death
· Some of 15 are likely to give payments to charity
Martin Hodgson
Monday April 9, 2007
The Guardian
April 08, 2007
The Associated Press
At least 26 people were killed and 18 others injured after a truck smashed into a bus Sunday in western Iran, state-run television reported. The broadcast said eight of the bus passengers were killed immediately and another 18 died from serious injuries at a local hospital.
The passengers were returning to their homes in the central Iranian city of Isfahan after a pilgrimage to holy sites in neighboring Iraq, the TV said.
The bus tumbled down into a valley after the truck strayed into oncoming traffic, hitting the bus on a bridge on the highway linking Ilam to Kermanshah, about 441 miles southwest of Tehran, the capital.
Iran has one of the worst road safety records in the world. More than 26,000 people lose their lives in road accidents annually. The toll is blamed on unsafe vehicles, disregard for traffic rules and inadequate emergency services.
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's foreign minister warned Sunday that cooperation with Iraq could deteriorate if five Iranian diplomats detained by U.S. troops in Iraq are not set free.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran is seriously pursuing the fate of the detained diplomats and urged Iraq to do the same, according to Iran's state broadcasting company's Web site.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said on Sunday it would not discuss its "obvious right" to master the nuclear fuel cycle but was open to talks that could reassure the West that its atomic plans were not aimed at producing bombs
Western, Middle Eastern media differ widely on Iran's treatment of Britons0 comments - published on Saturday, April 07, 2007
By Borzou Daragahi, Times Staff Writer
April 8, 2007
CAIRO — Worlds apart, but a few clicks away on the remote control, Western and Middle Eastern media presented starkly opposing views of the standoff over Iran's capture and release of 15 British sailors and marines.
According to CNN, the 14 men and one woman had been subjected to "mind games, isolation, aggressive interrogations" at the hands of the Revolutionary Guard after their capture while on patrol last month in the Persian Gulf.
But on Al Arabiya, a pan-Arab news TV station, the Britons' revelations after their release "showed contradictions" and appeared staged. And Iran fired off its own allegations of abuse Saturday, charging that U.S. officials and the CIA took part in the kidnapping and torture of an Iranian diplomat in Iraq.
Associated Press
LONDON — Fifteen British sailors and marines freed this week from captivity in Tehran began two weeks' leave with their families on Saturday, as the Iranian ambassador to London urged Britain to help Iran mend relations with the international community.
Ambassador Rasoul Movahedian told the Financial Times newspaper that Iran had "showed our goodwill" by freeing the Britons.
Egyptian foreign minister hopes sailors' release heralds 'new spirit' between Iran and West0 comments - published on Saturday, April 07, 2007
KUWAIT CITY: Egypt's foreign minister said Iran's decision to release 15 British sailors this week will hopefully herald a "new spirit" between the Islamic Republic and the West, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported Saturday.
The sailors, captured in the Persian Gulf on March 23, were freed Wednesday by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who called their release a gift to Britain. Tehran says the service members were detained in its waters, while London insists they were in Iraqi waters..........
Iran's climbdown0 comments - published on Saturday, April 07, 2007
Saturday, 07 April 2007
ChronicleHerald - SO, what did Iran accomplish by seizing, then "pardoning" and releasing, 15 British sailors for allegedly violating Iranian territorial waters?
Plenty, though perhaps not exactly what it intended.
Britain never publicly apologized for the claimed border transgression, as Tehran had demanded. Nor should it have. The Iranians never presented compelling evidence to counter British GPS data that showed their sailors never were in Iranian waters when captured by members of that country's Revolutionary Guard.......
OUR IRAN HELL0 comments - published on Saturday, April 07, 2007
By Robert Stansfield and Chris Hughes, Security Correspondent email@example.com 07/04/2007
BRITAIN'S freed hostages told yesterday how they were blindfolded, handcuffed, feared execution and were dumped in solitary confinement.
Iran calls British sailors' press conference "staged show"0 comments - published on Saturday, April 07, 2007
Iran said on Friday that a press conference by the released British sailors and marines was a "staged show" to cover up their mistake.
"The staged show cannot cover up the British military personnel's mistake of illegally entering the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement.
U.S. joins Britain denouncing Iran's ill treatment of British sailors0 comments - published on Saturday, April 07, 2007
The White House on Friday denounced Iran's "inappropriate" treatment of 15 British sailors hours after the former captives claimed they were subjected to " constant psychological pressure" during their 14 days ordeal in captivity.
Published: Saturday, 7 April, 2007, 08:34 AM Doha Time
CRAWFORD, Texas: The US has shrugged off Iran's release of 15 captured British sailors and warned that it faced tougher sanctions if it does not bow to UN demands to halt its uranium enrichment operations.
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Iran has urged Britain to respond with goodwill to the release of 15 British sailors and marines held captive in Tehran for 13 days.
The naval crew members were on Saturday beginning two weeks' leave with their families in Britain.
Ambassador Rasoul Movahedian told the Financial Times newspaper that Iran had "showed our goodwill" by freeing the sailors.
Published: Saturday, 7 April, 2007, 08:34 AM Doha Time
LONDON: The return of 15 British naval personnel from Iran was overshadowed in the press here yesterday by the deaths of four troops in Iraq, including two women, which they said may have had Iranian involvement.
Freed Britons Detail Time in Iran
Associated Press Writer
ROYAL MARINE BASE CHIVENOR, England (AP) - British sailors and marines held captive in Tehran for nearly two weeks were blindfolded, bound and forced against a wall as guards cocked weapons, members of the freed crew said.
Their confessions to entering Iranian waters were coerced, and their smiles for state television were a propaganda stunt, they said in interviews Friday and at a news conference at barracks in southern England
Iran's game, Canada's move0 comments - published on Friday, April 06, 2007
Attention News/Political Editors
Statement by the Canadian Coalition for Democracies
Iran has two strategic reasons for this outrage. First, Iran is testing the West to see if it is capable of any meaningful response to a clear escalation. If Iran's rulers feel little or no pain as a consequence of this crime, increasingly dangerous escalations will follow. Iran has reliably followed this pattern since the West reacted with weakness and disunity to the seizure of American hostages in 1979.
The American Chemical Society Terminates the Membership of Chemists from Iran0 comments - published on Friday, April 06, 2007
The American Chemical Society (ACS) has once again pioneered, under its "zealot" interpretation of "embargo" by Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control, by terminating membership of its long-time members in Iran; many of these members are past Ph.D. Alumni of American universities. -David N. Rahni 4/5/07
Blair attacks Iran as Basra deaths overshadow the hostages' return0 comments - published on Friday, April 06, 2007
By Kim Sengupta
Published: 06 April 2007
It was meant to be a day to celebrate the homecoming of the hostages from Iran. "Rejoice" said Tony Blair. But then came the dark shadow of Iraq, four British soldiers - two of them women - killed and another severely wounded in a roadside ambush in Basra.
The attack, in which a Kuwaiti interpreter was also killed, shattered whatever hopes had emerged of better relations with Iran following the release of the British prisoners.
The Prime Minister directly linked the Tehran regime to killings of British soldiers in Iraq, accusing it of "backing, financing, arming terrorism".....
As President Ahmadinejad informed the international press on April 4 that 15 British service personnel detained for their alleged illegal entry into Iranian waters were being released, France's Foreign Ministry called on Iran to allow a French researcher to leave the country by returning him his confiscated passport, Radio Farda and AFP reported on April 4. Ministry spokesman Denis Simonneau asked Iran to "quickly find a solution" to allow Stephane Dudoignon to regain his passport and leave Iran. He was briefly detained on January 30 after taking photographs of a religious ceremony in the town of Chah-Bahar on Iran's southeastern coast, AFP reported, but his personal effects and passports were kept when he was released. Dudoignon is a sociologist of religions working at the National Science Research Center (CNRS) in Paris, AP reported. He is currently in an "effective" state of house arrest and staying in the Tehran home of the family of his Iranian wife, AFP reported, citing "Le Monde." VS
What the end of the hostage crisis means for the world0 comments - published on Friday, April 06, 2007
Published: 06 April 2007
By Angus McDowall in Tehran and Anne Penketh
Much has been made of the factionalism in Iranian politics, but the past fortnight has demonstrated an unusual degree of unity. Whether the capture of the British boats was planned by the Revolutionary Guards alone, or approved from on high, will probably never be known.
But Iranian insiders say the Supreme National Security Council, where foreign policy is decided, took charge of the crisis early on and exploited it..................
Iran put 'psychological pressure' on British captives: officer0 comments - published on Friday, April 06, 2007
by Phil Hazlewood
LONDON (AFP) - Iran exerted "psychological pressure" on 15 British naval personnel it held for 13 days, a top British officer said Friday as he defended the group's actions and an inquiry began into their capture
Iran's Game, Canada's Move0 comments - published on Friday, April 06, 2007
Attention News/Political Editors
Statement by the Canadian Coalition for Democracies
Iran's game, Canada's move
Ottawa, Canada, April 4, 2007 -- The Iranian hostage drama is a test that the West must not fail.
Iran has two strategic reasons for this outrage. First, Iran is testing the West to see if it is capable of any meaningful response to a clear escalation. If Iran's rulers feel little or no pain as a consequence of this crime, increasingly dangerous escalations will follow. Iran has reliably followed this pattern since the West reacted with weakness and disunity to the seizure of American hostages in 1979.
Second, Iran is ratcheting up tensions so that it can, at a time of its choosing, release the hostages. The West will then breath a sigh of relief and a feeling of 'Peace in our Time' will make the West less willing to confront the real crisis, which is a nuclear Iran threatening the annihilation of other nations and exporting terror around the world.
For Canada, this international crime is of particular significance. Canadian sailors in the same region have been boarding merchant vessels since 1991. If there is a muted response to the abduction and abuse of the British sailors, then Canadians could easily be next.
Since 1979, provoke-and-escalate has been Iran's game. At little cost to itself, Iran has created the racist-supremacist Hezbollah, a proxy that has killed Americans, Europeans, Argentineans, Iranian exiles, Iraqis, Lebanese, Israelis and others, and has carried out targeting reconnaissance in Canada. Through Hezbollah, Iran is the enabler in Syria's destruction and occupation of Lebanon. If Iraq is allowed to acquire nuclear weapons, the pattern of the past 28 years guarantees that the escalation will be unstoppable.
The Stephen Harper government has adopted leadership positions before in foreign affairs, and it is in our interests to do so again. The weak response of Europe, even in the face of 15 Europeans being abducted, coerced and paraded before the media in contravention of the Geneva Convention, can be offset by a strong response from Canada, Great Britain, Australia and the United States. As a leader in dealing with the most significant threat to our future, Canada can undertake some practical steps:
- End Canada's $300 million in imports from Iran;
- Prohibit Canadian investment in Iran, especially in its oil and gas sector;
- Ban Iranian banks and investors from Canada's financial markets;
- Encourage Canadian investors and public sector fund managers to divest from companies doing business with Iran;
- Freeze all Canadian assets of Iranian officials including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, former Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani, and their families;
- Impose a travel ban on all Iranian officials and their families;
- Provide material and financial support for those seeking to free Iranian political prisoners by assisting in publicizing their names and the abuses of the regime;
- Continue to provide sanctuary to those Iranians fleeing the regime's abuses.
- Identify and deport any remaining Iranian diplomats in Canada who spy on local Iranians in order to threaten their families in Iran, a charge frequently made by Iranian students and dissidents in Canada.
Prime Minister Harper will be meeting on Monday April 9th at Vimy Ridge with world leaders, including Queen Elizabeth II, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of that battle. It is an opportunity for Canada to let the people of Britain know that we stand behind them in deed as well as word, as we would hope they would do for us if those sailors had been Canadian.
Unless Iran is finally made to understand that it will pay a price for its crimes, the escalation will continue and we will have many more Vimy Ridges to commemorate.
For more information, please contact
Naresh Raghubeer, Executive Director, CCD
416-452-6957 Mobile
If you would like to comment on this statement or other topics relating to foreign policy, please visit our public message forum and post your comments:
For an index of CCD in the Media, please visit: http://canadiancoalition.com/media.shtml
Founded in 2003, the Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD) is a non-partisan, multi-ethnic, multi-denominational organization of concerned Canadians dedicated to national security and the protection and promotion of democracy at home and abroad. CCD focuses on research, education and media publishing to build a greater understanding of the importance of national security and a pro-democracy foreign policy. http://canadiancoalition.com
Torture and ill-treatment -Amnesty International Report0 comments - published on Friday, April 06, 2007
Shahram Jazayeri- Arab (m), aged about 36, businessperson
Businessperson Shahram Jazayeri-Arab, who had been serving a 27-year prison sentence, escaped on 20 February and fled to Oman. He was returned and handed over to the Iranian authorities on 18 March. He is now reportedly in solitary confinement at Evin Prison where he is reportedly being tortured and ill-treated.
Shahran Jazayeri-Arab reportedly escaped while being transferred to a Special Judicial Court for Economic Affairs, a court specializing in financial matters, in order to identify property he had allegedly misappropriated. Following his escape, the head of the Special Judicial Complex for Economic Affairs, two judges and the head of Evin Prison were reportedly dismissed. Later in February he was reportedly sentenced in absentia to a fine equivalent to about US$62 million and 14 years in prison.
Shahram Jazayeri-Arab is reportedly being subjected to both psychological and physical torture in order to make him confess to bribery and corruption. He has reportedly been told that his parents, wife and children have been arrested and will be tortured to death unless he confesses. His interrogators reportedly told Shahram Jazayeri-Arab, "No one is supporting you, thief! We will torture you until you give us the confession we want, in front of a camera." He has reportedly been tied to a pillar with a bright light shining in his eyes; he has been put in a coffin-shaped box, set in a vertical position for several hours daily and has been flogged on the soles of his feet.
On 18 November 2002 Shahram Jazayeri-Arab was sentenced to 27 years' imprisonment and 50 lashes on charges of corruption and paying large bribes, some of them reportedly to senior politicians, in a bid to secure information and legislation favourable to his import-export business empire. Dozens of other people, including the sons of several prominent clerics, were also sentenced to prison terms, lashes and fines for their links with Shahram Jazayeri-Arab.
In 2004 Branch 26 of the Supreme Court reduced his 27-year prison term and referred the case to Tehran Public Court for further investigation. He was also allowed family visits, short periods of leave from prison and, reportedly, occasional use of a laptop computer and mobile phones.
After he was arrested in 2001 Shahram Jazayeri-Arab reportedly spent six months in solitary confinement in section 240 of Evin Prison. His cell was reportedly too small for him to lie down. He was reportedly subjected to torture and ill-treatment such as having his anus burned while sat on a chair with a hole under which a flame was lit; he was beaten on the soles of his feet several times then forced to run; he was also made to face mock executions and on one occasion he nearly suffocated during a mock hanging.
In July 2005 the authorities announced that a report prepared by the judiciary had produced detailed evidence of human rights violations, including torture and ill-treatment, of people held in prisons and detention centres. The report was said to have confirmed that measures had been taken to address the problems, but gave no details. Amnesty International has continued to receive new reports of torture and ill-treatment of detainees and is concerned that torture and other abuses remain routine in many Iranian prisons and detention centres.
LONDON (AFP) - Fifteen sailors freed by Iran called their ordeal "very difficult" after they flew home Thursday to end a tense stand-off that the government insisted had been resolved without any trade-off.
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran's nuclear chief Ali Larijani has told the European Union there was no chance Tehran would suspend its programme of uranium enrichment, state television reported on Thursday.
Rice open to bilateral talks with Iran at meeting0 comments - published on Thursday, April 05, 2007
By Sue Pleming
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is open to direct talks with Iran over its role in Iraq when she attends a meeting of Iraq's neighbors and world powers, the State Department said on Thursday
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration accused Iran on Thursday of using hostage diplomacy to boost its status, turning up U.S. criticism after the release of 15 British sailors and marines
THROUGH the capture of and subsequent announcement that it would release 15 British sailors and marines, the Islamic Republic of Iran sent its adversaries a pointed message: just as Iran will meet confrontation with confrontation, it will respond to what it perceives as flexibility with pragmatism. This message is worth heeding as the United States and Iran seem to be moving inexorably toward conflict.......
Allison Hanes, National Post
Published: Saturday, March 31, 2007
Canada may launch its own criminal investigation into the role of Tehran's top prosecutor in the rape, torture and murder of Montreal photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who was beaten to death inside Iranian's notorious Evin prison in July, 2003.
The subcommittee on international human rights recommended such an initiative last week, which will now go to the standing committee on foreign affairs for approval and could be voted on by all members of parliament in the House of Commons in the coming weeks.
If the probe is launched and enough evidence gathered by the RCMP, Justice Department officials could indict Saeed Mortazavi on murder charges directly, call for his extradition and, if denied, issue an international warrant for his arrest through Interpol -- a rare move using provisions of Canadian law to prosecute a crime against one of its citizens on foreign soil.
Font: ****"We're not there yet, but we're close," said Payam Akhavan, an Iranian-born law professor at McGill University and former war crimes prosecutor who has been part of an international effort to force Iran to hold those responsible for Ms. Kazemi's death to account.
"How much do we have to lose really?" he said. "This is state sanctioned rape, torture and murder at the highest levels of government and it has been covered up.
"We need to make [Mr. Mortazavi] into the poster child for impunity."
Prof. Akhavan met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper this week in Ottawa to offer his legal opinion on such a strategy.
The meeting was also attended by Nazanin Afshin-Jam, a former Miss World Canada turned advocate for women's rights in Iran, as well as Jason Kenney, chairman of the subcommittee on international human rights.
Canada sought to have Germany arrest Mr. Mortazavi when he showed up unexpectedly at a United Nations human rights gathering in Geneva last summer. His presence drew international scorn.
But Mr. Mortazavi changed his travel plans to avoid passing through Frankfurt and made it safely home.
Prof. Akhavan said Canada can take steps to ensure that doesn't happen next time.
"The criminal code specifically provides for jurisdiction over the crime of torture committed outside Canada if 'the complainant is a Canadian citizen,' " Prof. Akhavan stated in his memorandum to the Prime Minister. "The United Nations convention against torture also provides that a state party 'shall take such measures as may be necessary to establish its jurisdiction' over the crime of torture 'when the victim is a national of that state if that state considers it appropriate.' The exercise of extra-territorial jurisdiction to protect Canadian citizens against international crimes is wholly consistent with both Canadian and international law."
Taking aim at Mr. Mortazavi appears to have broad support across party lines.
The Conservative government offered no official comment yesterday, but parliamentary sources told the National Post that such a move is the logical next step after the attempt to have him arrested in Germany.
Irwin Cotler, a Liberal member of the subcommittee, said he endorses the indictment and expects it to eventually be approved.
by Farhad Pouladi
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran released 15 British sailors on Wednesday as a "gift" to the people of Britain in a dramatic end to a two-week ordeal that had triggered a new diplomatic crisis between Tehran and the West.
TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave medals of honor to the Iranian coast guards who intercepted the 15 British sailors and marines in the Gulf, saying Iran will never accept tresspassing of its territorial waters
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's president said on Wednesday Iran was releasing 15 detained British naval personnel as a "gift to the British people
They are free after this meeting and can go back to their families," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a news conference
Judy Mathewson and Janine Zacharia
April 2 (Bloomberg) -- After years of patrolling in close quarters in the Persian Gulf, the Iranian and U.S. navies have learned how to leave each other alone; the same isn't true of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Guard, which operates with a chain of command separate from Iran's regular navy, sparked an international crisis by seizing 15 British sailors and marines on March 23. As the U.S. Navy stages its largest show of force in the Persian Gulf since 2003, the Guard's unpredictable behavior in those waters increases the likelihood that another incident might inflame the already tense international standoff.
The Guard -- the radical force that the U.S. says is supplying weapons to Shiite insurgents in Iraq, and that calls for exporting Iranian-style revolutions to other Muslim nations -- is ``interpreting their orders differently'' than the regular Iranian Navy, said Kenneth Pollack, a Middle East senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
TEHRAN, Iran - An Iranian diplomat seized two months ago in Iraq by uniformed gunmen has been freed — a move that suggested progress Tuesday in British efforts to win the freedom of 15 sailors and marines held by Iran
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Tuesday the way was open for diplomatic efforts to secure the release of 15 British sailors and marines seized by Iran, and the next 48 hours would be critical.
Bush: resolve Iran-British sailor crisis peacefully0 comments - published on Tuesday, April 03, 2007
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Tuesday that he supported British efforts to resolve the crisis over Iran's seizure of 15 sailors and Marines peacefully.
Former FBI agent missing in Iran
WASHINGTON - The U.S. is seeking information from Iran about a former FBI agent who was reported missing while on a business trip there several weeks ago
FBI spokesman Rich Kolko said Monday the agent had retired nearly a decade ago and appeared to be in Iran on private business. He said the missing man was last seen there in early March and was not working for the FBI as a contractor
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran and Britain signaled possible movement toward ending the standoff over 15 detained British sailors Monday, with Tehran promising to stop airing video confessions and London saying it's willing to discuss ways to avoid boundary confusion in the Persian Gulf.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said on Monday it wanted to resolve the row over 15 British sailors and marines seized in the Gulf through diplomacy and there was no need for a trial.
Hostage crisis can backfire on Iran if it's handled deftly0 comments - published on Monday, April 02, 2007
For Americans who remember Iranian militants' 1979 invasion of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, last month's seizure of 15 British sailors and Royal Marines by Iranian gunboats summoned painful memories and an instinct to strike back.......
Britain-Iran crisis clouded by internal splits in Tehran0 comments - published on Monday, April 02, 2007
By Djallal Malti LONDON, AFP
The mounting standoff between London and Tehran over 15 British naval detainees is fueling tensions within the Iranian regime, complicating Britain's efforts to defuse the crisis, experts say.
While hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out again this weekend at the "arrogant" attitude of the British government, other more pragmatic forces might be more willing to seek a compromise to de-escalate the crisis.
"It is important to emphasize that internal tensions are at work in Iran ... this action may not have the support of more moderate forces in government," said Henning Riecke of the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin.
Ahmadinejad "is in power but, at the same time, we have seen a waning of his political fortunes since the end of last year", added Mark Thomas, from the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies in London.......
TEHRAN, Iran - The standoff over 15 captured British sailors shows no signs of abating, and analysts say that Iran's tough stance is a demonstration of the power of hardliners unafraid to confront the West.Events on Sunday only further polarized the situation: Two of the sailors appeared on state TV, saying they trespassed into Iranian waters, and about 200 angry Iranian youths threw rocks and firecrackers at the British Embassy and unsuccessfully tried to rush its grounds.
Iranian students from several universities shouted "Death to Britain!" and "Death to America!" and demanded the government shut down the "den of spies" — echoes of slogans from a crisis of a generation ago, when American captives were held hostage by Tehran for 444 days.
By Edmund Blair
TEHRAN (Reuters) - All 15 British navy personnel held by Iran have admitted entering Iranian waters illegally, a Tehran news agency said on Monday, but Iran indicated a softer line by saying it would not air film of their "confessions."
Iran's ISNA agency said the decision not to show the film, after similar broadcasts enraged London during the 10-day-old dispute, was based on what the report said was a shift in the "clamorous policies" of the British government
Britain has dismissed earlier television "confessions" and said they were unacceptable, adding the 15 were in Iraqi waters
Taking of hostages by Iran is not Britain's finest hour0 comments - published on Sunday, April 01, 2007
April 1, 2007
BY MARK STEYN Sun-Times Columnist
Twenty-seven years ago, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a student in Tehran and is said (by a former Iranian president, for one) to be among those in the U.S. embassy who seized and held American citizens hostage for more than a year.
Today, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is president of Iran and bears less ambiguous responsibility for Western hostages. This time round, they're British subjects: 15 sailors and Royal Marines. There are a few differences between this kidnapping and the last: Back in 1979, the Iranians seized their hostages by invading a diplomatic mission -- the sovereign territory of the United States. In 2007, they seized them in international waters. In 1979, two weeks after the embassy crisis began, 13 American hostages who happened to be black were released; the remainder were held for another 14 months. In 2007, the one woman among the hostages is being offered by the regime for early release, invitingly dangled in front of the TV cameras, though with her Royal Navy uniform replaced by Islamic dress; it remains to be seen what will become of the others. On Thursday, a new generation of "student demonstrators" called for the "British aggressors" to be executed.
CBS) CBS News reporter Charles Wolfson is a former Tel Aviv bureau chief for CBS News who now covers the State Department.
As the standoff between Iran and Great Britain enters its second week, concern is growing over how and when the situation will be resolved. For now, efforts to bring an end to the growing crisis have been limited on both sides to behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts and public rhetoric aimed at bolstering each side's demands for the other side to admit it was the offending party.
Britain and Iran keep diplomacy option open for sailors0 comments - published on Sunday, April 01, 2007
TEHRAN (AFP) - Islamist students were to rally outside Britain's embassy in Tehran on Sunday after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad slammed "arrogant" Britain over Iran's seizure of 15 British sailors.
Even as both sides in the continuing standoff sought to keep open the door to diplomacy, Iranian media reported that Iran
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran has sent a formal letter to the British Embassy in Tehran protesting an alleged incident in which British troops surrounded an Iranian consulate in Iraq and fired shots into the air, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported Sunday on its Web site.
Britain has denied any aggressive action, saying the shooting was an exchange of gunfire after British troops on a foot patrol near the Iranian consulate were ambushed
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - A senior Pakistani lawmaker has called on Iran to free 15 British sailors and marines as a "humanitarian gesture," saying they should not be blamed for the policies of their government.


text:
I was 4 years old when this letter came for me in the mail. And it's NOT from my mother.
It's a little change of pace and I'm happy to share it. As a matter-of-fact, I still have a smile on my face after reading my father's letter. (For those of you unfamiliar with this blog, I should mention that he died of pancreatic cancer when I was 8.) Looking at his words, I realized that even then he probably knew about my mom, perhaps foreshadowed the mail I'd save from her, and the day I'd need to use it as proof. What if HE TOO had a growing collection of actual letters written to him...by her? I guess I'll never know for sure.
What I DO know is when it came to my dad, there were no cuckoo warnings. No unwarranted fears. No loose change taped to a piece of paper. Only a father...who really did know best. Happy Thanksgiving!
Mr. Adam Chester
99 black Oak Ridge Road
Wayne, New Jersey
Dear Adam:
Here is some very important business mail for you to keep with all your other very important pieces of business mail that are filed away in exotic places on Black Oak Ridge Road.
With all my love to the best little boy in the whole world!
All my love always,
Acting Workshops
3 years ago

subset: commoncrawl


text:
In my post on Doubling Skill, I showed the numeric values that would apply if there was a doubling of skill from one dan level to another.
To be clear, I should state that I do not believe this to be true in a literal sense. I do not believe that skill can be quantified, nor do I think that skill is the only factor considered in dan ranking. On the later point, I recognize that factors such as contributions to the art mean more and more as a student advances.
But I do like the idea of a doubling. Is shows that it does not take a little to progress from one level to another -- it takes a lot. The actual numeric value is not important -- it is the idea.
Also, I mentioned in a follow-up post that I am not jealous of seniors' rank or skill. Halford E. Jones, a frequent reader of this blog and the donor of the Halford E. Jones Filipino Martial Arts Collection at the Hawaii Karate Museum, suggested that a better word might be "envious". I agree.
Imagine when Koichi Tohei first visited Hawaii. How do you think that the local Judo instructors felt when he started to demonstrate his Aikido techniques. Many of them were inspired to begin the study of Aikido.
My Aikido Sensei was Sensei Sadao Yoshioka. His Judo instructor was Yamamoto Sensei, who was a 6th dan when Tohei Sensei first visited. Despite his decades in Judo, Yamamoto Sensei became a student of Aikido. Can you imagine that? And so did Yoshioka Sensei.
Tohei Sensei was so inspiring. Rather than being jealous or envious, I believe that the people observing him were amazed.
I am not a fan of rank, I am a fan of skill and character. Someone can give you rank, but you have to earn your own skill and shape your own character. Rank does have its place, but it is just a piece of a greater puzzle.
Charles C. Goodin
Relative Dan Scale
In my post on Doubling Skill, I showed the numeric values that would apply if there was a doubling of skill from one dan level to another.
Posted by Charles C. Goodin on Tuesday, August 26, 2008


text:
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text:
Gov. Rick Perry has repeatedly said he's not interested in the No. 2 slot on a presidential ticket, but he didn't quite throw a bucket of warm spit on the idea of a Gingrich-Perry team.
Fox News over the weekend touted an exclusive report that "preliminary 'what-if' conversations are underway that could lead to a Gingrich-Perry ticket being announced prior to the Republican National Convention at the end of August."
The idea was lofted ahead of the Alabama and Mississippi contests, which are important to Gingrich's campaign. It got some attention even though Perry abandoned his presidential effort in January after a series of stumbles, and Gingrich's campaign is currently lagging.
Perry endorsed Gingrich when he left the presidential race, but the former U.S. House speaker is behind Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum with 14.4 percent support in Real Clear Politics' national poll average.
Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said by e-mail, "My assumption is that the Perry gambit is to add to Gingrich's appeal in Alabama and Mississippi. Newt has to win one or both of these states to continue his campaign. An all-South ticket might help a little. The chances that this ticket will ever come to be are tiny."
Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond said Monday there have been no such talks between Gingrich and Perry, adding that "we're not at that point of the campaign."
"In the Gingrich campaign, there is a tremendous amount of admiration for Gov. Rick Perry …. His endorsement in South Carolina will forever mean the world to us," Hammond said. While the campaign's not at that point, he added, "Certainly that doesn't mean we at some point down the road wouldn't put Gov. Perry on that list. … We certainly think he's a tremendous asset to the party, to our campaign, and to the state of Texas."
Perry spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said in a statement, "Gov. Perry thinks Newt Gingrich is the strongest conservative to debate and defeat President Obama and truly overhaul Washington. The speculation is humbling but premature."
Perry previously rejected the idea of being anyone's vice presidential pick in stronger terms, saying last summer before he announced his own White House bid, "John Nance Garner had a pretty good handle on that."
Garner, a Texan who was Franklin D. Roosevelt's vice president in 1933-41, is known for saying that the vice presidency was "not worth a bucket of warm spit."
In an interview last month with the San Antonio Express-News/Houston Chronicle, Perry again professed no interest in that job or an administration post if a Republican wins the presidency.
Here's a clip of his answer to that, and to a question about how much he'd be traveling out of state this year to promote issues he cares about: