Iran Feature: If a Protest Occurs and No One Notices, Does It Make a Sound?

For some, it is as if the demonstrations on National Student Day --- 16 Azar --- never happened.

You will not, for example, find any reference in Iranian state media to the protests on campuses across the nation. Press TV's top story prefers the relative security of the nuclear discussions, with Iran's National Security Council "call[ing] on Western powers to exercise commitment to agreements they make with the Islamic Republic".

I guess that's understandable --- no one really likes to mention domestic arguments. A bit more surprising that CNN's website forgot to mention 16 Azar.

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Afghanistan: The Complications of the Elections Result (Cole)

Juan Cole writes:

Most of the results of the disputed parliamentary election in Afghanistan were announced on Wednesday. Altogether 24 candidates were disqualified from parliament because the Independent Electoral Commission found them guilty of fraud. Some 1.3 million of the 5.6 million votes were tossed out as invalid.

The southern Pashtun ethnic group appears to have lost its majority in parliament, a development that could presage further dissatisfaction with the government in the Pashtun south and east of the country, which is already the site of a lively set of insurgencies.

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Pakistan: More than 70 Killed in Friday's Mosque Bombing (Cole)

Juan Cole summarises the developments yesterday in Pakistan:

The Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan) bombed two mosques in Pakistan’s Pashtun northwest on Friday, killing over 70 persons and wounding many others. CSM argues that one of the bombings, in Dara Adam Khel, was a reprisal against the Akhurwal tribe for opposing the Taliban and allying with the Pakistani army. Dara Adam Khel is a picturesque village renowned for its’ blacksmiths’ ability to handcraft rifles and other weaponry.

The Tariq Afridi faction of the Pakistani Taliban had been pushed out of Dara Adam Khel by the Pakistani government, which the Akhurwal tribe supported in this endeavor. But they had only been pushed out to the mountainous environs of the city, and can clearly come back in and wreak havoc.

Aljazeera English has video.

Israel: Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon Explains "Loyalty Oath" for Non-Jews

Those non-Jews who become citizens need to fully appreciate that the State of Israel is the national expression of the self-determination of the Jewish people.

Those who object to the new formula are doing untold damage to the sincerity of the Zionist mission, and make our case harder to explain.

Only by adhering to and proudly reinforcing our national character, not only to those who wish to join our people, but also to the nations of the world, will we validate our presence. Many nations actively promote their national mission, whether it is “American exceptionalism” or France’s “liberté, égalité, fraternité.”

Every nation has its national ethos, and Israel’s “light unto the nations” can only be expressed through its Jewish character, which we must state clearly and unequivocally.

Those who disparage clearly describing Israel as the eternal aspiration of the Jewish people provide ample ammunition to those who seek the end of our national existence.

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Pakistan and US: Border Opened to NATO Tankers But Tensions Continue (Cole)

The Pakistani government has decided to reopen the Torkham border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the route whereby 70 percent of US/NATO supplies and 40 percent of fuel are brought by truck into Afghanistan. The Pakistani Frontier Corps and the Afghanistan National Army began work Sunday to coordinate the clearing of the huge backlog of trucks that have been stuck at the crossing for a week and a half. Some reports say that the opening is expected to occur on Monday.

Pakistan closed the crossing to trucks transporting goods for NATO & the US after a September 30 incident in which US helicopter gunships made incursions into Pakistani territory and then fired missiles at a Frontiers Corps checkpoint, apparently mistaking the scouts for Taliban. Two scouts were killed and four wounded. Pakistani nerves were already raw because of unmanned drone strikes on Pakistani territory.

US President Barack Obama and Gen. David Petraeus appear to have decided to push for more hot pursuit missions into Pakistan from Afghanistan, and this decision was absolutely unacceptable to the Pakistani military, as well as to the public.

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Pakistan: US Supplies for Afghanistan Blocked, 27 Trucks Burned (Cole)

Tensions between the United States, NATO, and the Pakistani government boiled over on Thursday and Friday after American helicopter gunships killed 3 Pakistani Frontier Corpsmen and wounded 4 others. The two countries are nominally allies in the battle against Taliban and other extremists, but Pakistan stands accused of being selective in which extremists it wants to combat and of remaining anti-American even as it takes $8.5 bn. in aid from Washington.

Some 27 NATO fuel tankers parked near Shikarpur and sidelined because of the Pakistani blockade of such vehicles were attacked with rocket-propelled grenades by insurgents early on Friday, turning them into a massive bonfire.

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Following Up EA's Stories: Strikes on Pakistan, Flotilla Raid, US Military v. Obama, Israel's Settlements, Twitter and Activism

Putting this week's stories on EA WorldView into context....

The Strikes on Pakistan: On Tuesday, we considered, "Stepping Up the Drone Killings (And How to Accept Them)".

The political tensions continue to increase. Dr Zalmai Rassoul, the Afghan foreign minister, has issued a pointed warning: "On many occasions from this podium, the Afghan delegation has drawn the attention of the global community to the reality that terrorism and the ideologies of extremism and radicalism are spawned beyond the borders of Afghanistan." 

Rassoul said that, as long as" certain state and non-state actors" provide Al Qaeda and its affiliated individuals and entities with sanctuary, arms and financing, they would remain formidable and murderous adversaries.

Yesterday Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari said to members of his party that "international forces were whipping up a storm against the government" and pledged not to bow to the pressure.

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The Latest from Iran (24 September): Back to Life, Back to Reality

1315 GMT: A Rafsanjani Move on Political Prisoners? Rooz Online offers an English translation of its article on former President Hashemi Rafsanjani's 3 1/2-hour meeting this week with families of political prisoners. It provides this intriguing quote from Rafsanjani, taken from his website, on the dynamics of a visit to the Supreme Leader:

If I communicate your requests to government authorities, I am not sure I will get a positive response and in fact this may produce the opposite response....The esteemed leader had issued suitable instructions regarding the speedy examination of the prisoners’ cases and also on respecting their legal rights, which could solve many of the current problems....

I hope that this will not be a futile effort.

What makes this intriguing --- and Rooz notes this --- is that it is a follow-up to Rafsanjani's meeting last month with Ayatollah Khamenei, in which he directly handed the Supreme Leader files of political prisoners, insisting to Khamenei's office that he had to give them to the Supreme Leader personally.

As we later reported from reliable sources in Iran, Khamenei refused to look at the files in front of Rafsanjani. The frustrated former President later told members of his Kargozaran Party, "I won't bear this situation."

So is this a renewed attempt by Rafsanjani to "push" the Supreme Leader?

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The Latest from Iran (21 September): Protests and Gasoline

2025 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. AFP has now picked up the story that former President Hashemi Rafsanjani met the families of political prisoners and promised to raise their cases with the Supreme Leader.

2015 GMT: Attacking the Judiciary. A curious and possibly significant editorial in the official Islamic Republic News Agency --- which is generally in league with the President's office --- criticising Iran's judiciary for allowing political prisoners to write letters which are then publicised.

1930 GMT: Economy Watch. Vice President Mohammad Reza Mirtajoddini has denied that the Government is postponing the implementation of its subsidy cuts, scheduled for next week.

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The Latest from Iran (19 September): While the President's Away....

1920 GMT: Striking Back. Mehr News posts responses from eight members of Parliament, ranging from conservative to reformist, on the President's recent remarks about his office and the Majlis. The summary --- "A number of lawmakers have criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent claim that the executive branch of government is more important than the legislature" --- is far milder than the comments summarised. 

An example? Key MP Ali Motahari's statement, "Among the three branches of government, the parliament is still on top of affairs and has the authority to impeach the president and remove him from office."

1850 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Student activist Majid Tavakoli, detained since December, has reportedly met his family for the first time in two months.

Tavakoli's sentence of 8 1/2 years in prison was confirmed last week by an appeals court. Last month, he and 16 other political prisoners went on hunger strike; one of their demands was the restoration of visits with relatives.

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