Wikileaks and Iran: Europe, Ahmadinejad, and The Worst Inauguration Protest Ever

The Europeans were going to convert their unknown dissent into known dissent if the President --- who had no idea, as he was being inaugurated, that a non-protest was occurring over his possible non-election --- mentioning the killing of Jews, past or future.

Well, not quite:

[French official] Paucelle admitted that since non-Muslims had never before received an invitation to the inauguration ceremony presided over by the Supreme Leader, EU diplomats in Tehran have never entered the building where the event will take place, and so they are not sure how they will stage their walk-out, logistically, should they need to do so. They are worried that the doors may be locked.

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Egypt's Elections: The Outcome (Howeidy)

Claimed footage of vote-rigging arrangements by supporters of ruling National Democratic Party in Alexandria:

Amira Howeidy of Ahram Online summarises the state of the new Egyptian Parliament after yesterday's second-round voting:

In the parliamentary election’s second round, preliminary results indicate that the NDP [ruling National Democratic Party] has swept 96 percent of the available seats.

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WikiLeaks: A Guide to EA's Saturday-Monday Coverage

ANALYSES

1. A two-part special evaluating the January 2010 assessment of the Green Movement and Iranian politics by the US Consulate in Dubai:

Part 1: "US Diplomats Assess the Green Movement and the Political Situation"

Part 2: "US Diplomats Assess Green Movement and Politics 'From Crisis to Stalemate'"

2. Getting behind misleading headlines to assess the claim "Saudi Arabia: A Cash Machine for Terrorists"

3. Getting to the real significance on an American assessment of the situation in Iraq: "Comparing the Threats from Saudi Arabia and Iran"

FEATURES AND DOCUMENTS

1. A November 2009 diplomatic episode involving the US and Libya: "When the Nuclear Deal Almost Unraveled...Because Qadhafi Couldn't Camp in New York"

2. The State Department warns students, "Link to Documents and You'll Never Work for Us"

Wikileaks Special: Dissecting the Claim "Saudi Arabia A Cash Machine for Terrorists"

A fine example this weekend of keeping a careful eye on press coverage of the WikiLeaks documents and using the original cables to reach a more considered judgement....

The Guardian of London headlines, "WikiLeaks cables portray Saudi Arabia as a cash machine for terrorists". This is supported by the sub-headline: "Hillary Clinton memo highlights Gulf states' failure to block funding for groups like al-Qaida, Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba".

Not exactly.

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Iran Special for 16 Azar: Banning the Students

During the past five years, hundreds of students have been barred from higher education through this process. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran interviewed 27 students barred from higher education. Additionally, the Campaign compiled a list of 217 students who were denied their right to education. The true numbers are believed to be much higher, as many targeted students have preferred to remain silent and not make their case public, fearing further persecution and prosecution, or hoping that they can reverse their education bans by giving written guarantees to cease future activism.

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The Latest from Iran (6 December): From Nuke Talks to Student Demos

1900 GMT: BBC Notes Sedition. The BBC has picked up on comments by Ayatollah Jannati, the head of the Guardian Council, that opposition to the system of velayat-e-faqih (clerical supremacy) is a denial of God.

Jannati made the remark in a speech on Sunday in Shiraz: "Denying the guardianship of the Uupreme Leader [is the same as denying God."

The comment effectively equates dissent with mohareb (war against God), a crime which can carry the death penalty.

1740 GMT: 16 Azar. Kalemeh posts an article on today's protest at Tehran University. We have posted six clips of the demonstration in a separate entry.

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Wikileaks and Iraq: Comparing the Threats from Saudi Arabia and Iran

What is notable here is the divergence between the analysis of the Saudi and Iranian threats to Iraq and the recommendations for the way forward.

Proposed US action on the Saudis is limited to "keeping up the pressure on Egypt and Saudi Arabia in particular to return their Ambassadors [to Baghdad]" and general invocation to "caution Iraq's Arab neighbors against efforts to inflame Shia-Sunni anxieties through their support for Sunni parties and by Shia-critical media attacks".

In contrast, Tehran retains its special place as Number One Adversary, its presence used to link Iraq with others in the area in an American partnership: "We will need to flesh out ideas for a post-GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] security architecture that includes Iraq more fully, develops ways to contain Iranian regional influence, and shapes the special position Iraq will likely occupy in the Gulf in ways that further our interests and those of our Gulf partners."

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WikiLeaks and Libya: When the Nuclear Deal Almost Unraveled...Because Qadhafi Couldn't Camp in New York

On 20 November 2009, the day before the plane was to leave for a nuclear facility in Russia, Libyan officials unexpectedly halted the shipment. Without explanation, they declared that the uranium would not be permitted to leave Libya. They left the seven five-ton casks out in the open and under light guard, vulnerable to theft by the al-Qaeda factions that still operate in the region or by any rogue government that learned of their presence.

For one month and one day, U.S. and Russian diplomats negotiated with Libya for the uranium to be released and flown out of the country.

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Iran Snapshot: A Letter to EA About Detained Journalist Emaduddin Baghi

EA has just received this letter about journalist Emaduddin Baghi, arrested in December 2009 --- in part for interviewing Grand Ayatollah Montazeri --- and summoned this week to begin a seven-year sentence:

Dear Friends.

Emaduddin Baghi was sent behind bars today. A few days ago when Tehran was in holiday thanks to the pollution, an unknown telephone call insisted Baghi to make himself present before the court on Sunday (today, 5th of December). Today is a bad day because Baghi is imprisoned again.

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Egypt Latest: The Second Round of Parliamentary Elections

1940 GMT: Election monitors have said turnout was as low as 5% in some districts. The head of the High Elections Commission operations room, Ahmed Shawqi, said just before polls closed that the turnout was “very low”, blaming it on the withdrawal of the Muslim Brotherhood and Wafd Party from the run-offs.

1655 GMT. Residents of Daqahliya's Sandeela district have stormed a local polling station to protest alleged vote-rigging in favor of the two National Democratic Party candidates Noshi al-Basandeeli.

The crowd smashed 17 ballot boxes, tearing up votes and throwing them into the street.

Voting at the polling station was suspended.

1600 GMT: Statement of the Day. Al Jazeera's Ayman Moyheldin reports this comment from the ruling NDP's Atef Masoud: the elections were the will of "the Egyptian people [who] don't want opposition in Parliament".

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