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Entries in Ali Akbar Salehi (132)

Wednesday
Dec052012

The Latest from Iran (5 December): The Victory of Nasrin Sotoudeh's Hunger Strike

Nasrin Sotoudeh1903 GMT: Drone Watch. The US military has backed away from its earlier denial that none of its drones could have been downed by Iran.

Pentagon spokesman George Little said the drone displayed by the Revolutionary Guards on Tuesday appeared to be a U.S.-made ScanEagle. He said it could not be determined if the drone was operated by the US.

Commenting on Tehran's claims that it extracted valuable data from the ScanEagle, reportedly captured in the Persian Gulf, Little said it was “highly improbable” that useful intelligence could be gained from the relatively unsophisticated drone.

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Thursday
Nov292012

The Latest from Iran (29 November): Regional Interventions

See also Iran Feature: The Regime's Food Problems
Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- Hunger Strikes, Hungry Families, and Ending Violence Against Women
The Latest from Iran (28 November): Supreme Leader Declares, "We're Winning"


2050 GMT: Nuclear Watch. The US has set a March deadline for Iran to fulfil the American vision of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, threatening referral of the matter to the United Nations Security Council.

Speaking to the IAEA board, American diplomat Robert Wood requested that IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano declare in his next quarterly report on Iran, due in late February, whether Tehran has taken "any substantive steps" to address concerns.

Wood continued, "If by March Iran has not begun substantive cooperation with the IAEA, the United States will work with other board members to pursue appropriate board action, and would urge the board to consider reporting this lack of progress to the U.N. Security Council. Iran cannot be allowed to indefinitely ignore its obligations....Iran must act now, in substance."

Amano told the board that there had been no progress in his agency's year-long push to clarify concerns about suspected atom bomb research in Iran, but said he would continue his efforts.

The Director-General had expressed optimism in June, just before the last meeting between Iran and the 5+1 Powers on Tehran's uranium enrichment, over a resolution of the protocol for inspection and supervision of Iran's nuclear facilities. However, the hope receded amid the stalemate in Tehran's talks with the 5+1.

Iranian officials have said discussions will resume with the IAEA on 13 December.

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Wednesday
Nov212012

The Latest from Iran (21 November): The Economy? "All Is Well"

See also The Latest from Iran (20 November): A Supreme Leader Shift on Syria?


1950 GMT: Nuclear Watch. Following a meeting of the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia) in Brussels, a spokesman has said that the group wants a new round of negotiations with Tehran as soon as possible: "The idea of course is that we want Iran to really engage in the proposals we have made and guarantee and persuade the international community that the Iranian nuclear programme is purely for peaceful means."

The spokesman said "necessary contact" would be made "in the coming days” with the Islamic Republic.

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Monday
Nov192012

The Latest from Iran (19 November): "Empathy and Cooperation Will Defeat Sanctions"

See also The Latest from Iran (18 November): A Move on Syria


2115 GMT: Gaza Watch. According to journalist Thomas Erdbrink, a representative of Gaza's Islamic Jihad has confirmed that Iran gave them rockets --- he said "thank you" on the Islamic Republic's Arabic-language TV channel Al Alam.

2025 GMT: Gaza Watch. Entekhab reports that Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has refused permission for Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border.

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Sunday
Nov182012

The Latest from Iran (18 November): A Move on Syria

1840 GMT: Foreign Affairs Watch (Syria Front). Opening the meeting in Tehran for "national dialogue" between the Syrian regime and opposition, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has warned, "Some countries envisage arming the opposition with heavy and semi-heavy weaponry. In reality, they seek to legitimise publicly what they have been doing in secret."

On Monday, EU foreign ministers will discuss lifting a strict embargo on arms deliveries to Syria. France has publicly said it favours sending "defensive" weapons to the Syrian opposition.

Salehi said such arms deliveries would set a "dangerous precedent" and constitute "a clear interference in the affairs of an independent country": "It will spread insecurity, the risk of terrorism and organised violence in all of the region."

(Cross-posted from Syria and Beyond Live Coverage)

1820 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Prominent reformist Mostafa Tajzadeh has returned to prison after a five-day furlough.

Tajzadeh, a former Deputy Minister of Interior, was seized soon after the disputed 2009 Presidential election and is serving a six-year sentence. Despite the prison term, he has been vocal in his opposition to the regime.

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Sunday
Nov182012

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Insurgents Take a Military Airport in the North

See also Syria 1st-Hand: A Taxi Ride In the Damascus Suburbs
Israel-Palestine Live Coverage: Talk of Ceasefire Fades as Israel Pounds Gaza

Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Insurgents Change the Situation on the Ground


2059 GMT: Jordan. Security officials are holding and interrogating 130 citizens for 15 days on suspicion that they called for the overthrow of King Abdullah II at protests this week. They face charges of "threatening to undermine the regime, illegal gathering, and creating civil strife", which can carry sentences of up to 5 years.

Human rights lawyer Musa Abdallat said of the detained individuals, "These are prisoners of conscience who should be released".

1919 GMT: Bahrain The Ministry of Interior offers its thought for the day:

Some may disagree. The main opposition society AlWefaq recently released a report on the attack on Friday prayers led by Sheikh Isa Qassim which took place on 9 November. Authorities reportedly set up 26 separate checkpoints to keep worshippers away from Duraz. People who attempted to travel to the mosque by foot were fired on with tear gas.

The Government, however, is unlikely to heed the dissent. It said Sunday that “a number” of Shiite religious figures have been referred to the public prosecutor for delivering political sermons or leading anti-regime chants.

See also Preaching Religious Tolerance, Practicing Religious Discrimination.

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Saturday
Nov172012

The Latest from Iran (17 November): More Posturing on Gaza

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- From Death in Detention to Economic Suffering
Iran Analysis: Assessing the Latest Nuclear Report --- Is There an "Imminent Threat"?
The Latest from Iran (16 November): Taking Advantage of Gaza


2021 GMT: Gaza Watch. Fars reports that 20,000 Basij militia, staging exercises in Isfahan, have declared their readiness to fight in Gaza --- defending and reclaiming the "occupied land.

2005 GMT: Foreign Affairs (US Front). A judiciary statement reports that the US has denied visas to Iranian officials planning to attend a meeting in New York of the United Nations' Third Committee, which focuses on social issues and human rights.

"The U.S. government, by not issuing visas to the members of the delegation, wants to ruin the possibility of the presence of the delegation, and prevent its members from conducting their mission of interacting and cooperating with the United Nations," said the statement.

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Friday
Nov162012

The Latest from Iran (16 November): Taking Advantage of Gaza

15 June 2009: Protesters in Tehran, "No to Gaza, No Lebanon, My Life Only for Iran"

See also Iran Analysis: The Resurrection of Ahmadinejad's Right-Hand Man?
The Latest from Iran (15 November): Tehran's Open Call for Nuclear Talks


1641 GMT: Julian Borger of The Guardian offers the first soundbite from the latest International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran's nuclear programme:

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Monday
Nov122012

The Latest from Iran (12 November): The Economic Squeeze Tightens

See also Iran Feature: The Last Blog of Sattar Beheshti, Murdered by Security Forces in Prison
Iran Snap Analysis: Military Chest-Thumping Takes Over in Tehran
The Latest from Iran (11 November): Preparing for Renewed Nuclear Talks?


1415 GMT: A Death in Detention. Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of Parliament’s National Security Committee said that “preliminary information” showed no signs of beatings on the body of Sattar Beheshti, the blogger who was reportedly killed during interrogation in prison last week.

The Parliamentary committee had said yesterday, amid international pressure, that it would investigate the circumstances of Beheshti's death, which came after he was seized on 31 October from his home. The Khaneh Mellat website has reported that security forces of the Islamic Republic will appear at a committee meeting today to give their report.

The head of Islamic Republic Human Rights Commission announced that the head of the judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, had issued a special order to investigate the case.

More than 40 political prisoners in Ward 350 of Evin Prison posted a letter that “when Sattar Beheshti was brought to section 350 of Evin, signs of torture were all over his body and he was injured and in pain".

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Sunday
Oct212012

The Latest from Iran (21 October): How High Is the Rate of Inflation?

See also The Latest from Iran (20 October): "We Will Not Surrender"


1955 GMT: About 1,000 workers of the Entekhab group have staged a demonstration at the South Korean Embassy in Tehran after an acquisition deal with Daewoo Electronics collapsed because of sanctions.

The demonstrators called for return of a downpayment of $70 million by Entekhab in 2011 to Daewoo, company spokesman Hamid Ghaznavi said.

In November 2010, Entekhab Industrial Group signed a contract for its acquisition of South Korea's Daewoo Electronics for $518 million. Daewoo Electronics, a former subsidiary of the now-defunct Daewoo Group, has been under a debt rescheduling programme since 1999 when its parent company collapsed.

Entekhab is located in the central province of Isfahan and produces appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines and televisions under the brand names Snowa and Haier.

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