Iran Snapshot: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Master of Irony

I was going to put this in today's analysis on public posturing or possibly the updates, but there are special occasions when I have to pay tribute to a statement that is so bold-faced that it dares to be challenged as the definition of irony.

So I turn the microphone over to a Mr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad so he can pronounce --- with a straight face:

If the US offered its citizens the right to freedom of information on world affairs, so that the American people could be fully informed of their leaders' support for Israeli atrocities as well as the crimes they have committed in Iraq and Afghanistan, the people would take effective measures against their statesmen.

UPDATED Gaza Latest (17 June): Israel "Eases Blockade"; Turkey Suspends Military Agreements with Israel; Reactions to Israeli Enquiry

UPDATED 1020 GMT: Would you like a story that might be even bigger than Israel's announcement of a revised blockade policy? Try this from Zaman:

"The Defense Industry Implementation Committee (SSİK) convened under the chairmanship of PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to take up the issue of military agreements and projects with Israel. Turkey -- which recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv and cancelled three military exercises in the aftermath of a bloody Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara aid ship -- has shelved 16 bilateral agreements due to Israel's refusal to apologize for the killings or pay compensation.

Thus, all Turkish-Israeli agreements at the state level have been cancelled....

All bilateral projects in the field of military training and cooperation will be frozen; a $757 million plane and tank modernization project and a missile project worth over $1.5 billion have already been shelved. The majority of work on these projects was planned to be cooperative Turkish-Israeli efforts.

Gaza Flotilla Aftermath: Does This Video Show Israeli Commandos “Executing” Turkish-American Furkan Dogan?

UPDATED 0945 GMT: The Israeli Prime Minister's Office has announced that Israel will ease its land blockade on Gaza, expanding the number of products allowed into the area, including construction materials: "It was agreed to liberalize the system by which civilian goods enter Gaza (and) expand the inflow of materials for civilian projects that are under international supervision."

The statement said "existing security procedures to prevent the inflow of weapons and war materiel" would continue. There was no reference to Israel's sea blockade.

Both Turkey and Amnesty International have criticised Israel's plan for an enquiry into the military operation against the Freedom Flotilla, with three Israeli members joined by two international observers, Nobel Peace Prize winner David Trimble of Northern Ireland and Ken Watkin, former judge advocate general of the Canadian military.

The head of the Middle East and North Africa division of Amnesty International, Malcolm Smart, said: "The structure of the government-appointed committee brings disappointment. This was a missed opportunity." He added that the probe lacked sufficient independence from the Government to reach meaningful conclusions and that the findings of the committee would be unusable for future legal actions in regard to the events that occurred during the flotilla raid.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted by Agence France Presse, "We have no trust at all that Israel, a country that has carried out such an attack on a civilian convoy in international waters, will conduct an impartial investigation.

In Ankara, ministers of the Erdogan Government clearly agreed on three points: Israel committed a crime and must acknowledge this; Israel must apologize to both the Turkish state and its citizens; and Israel must give compensation to the families of people it killed, to the wounded citizens, and to Turkish citizens who were forcefully taken from the Flotilla and arrested. Turkey's ambassador to Israel remains in Ankara.

The Turkish-Israeli tension is causing ripples in the US, with Jewish groups debating a response. “There are lines that mustn't be crossed, and we have seen over the last weeks those lines aggressively crossed,” said Jason Isaacson, the director of international affairs for the American Jewish Committee, and added: ”The dilemma is to honor the legacy of Turkey's hospitality and integration of its Jews in its society.”

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency also put out this "undecided" position. The organisation said:

The fragile consensus emerging from the establishment Jewish organizational leadership is that the relationship it has cultivated over the decades with Turkey is worth preserving -- at least for now.

However, speaking to to RFE/RL's Armenian Service on Monday, Washington Times journalist Eli Lake insisted that Turkey can no longer count on the backing of the powerful Jewish lobby in the United States in its efforts to block a congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide.

He added, "One of the prizes of the Turks in their relationship with Israel was support from the American Jewish community in Washington. After the flotilla incident, I would say that that support for now has dried up."

China This Week: Kyrgyzstan, Beijing's Help for US; Latest on Economy

Shan Shan writes for EA:

China and Kyrgyzstan: China has evacuated 1,299 nationals from Kyrgyzstan where ethnic clashes have left at least 187 people dead, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

The ninth and last chartered flight of China Southern Airlines, with 148 Chinese nationals aboard, landed at an airport in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, early Thursday morning from Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan.

"After three days of efforts, the vast majority of Chinese nationals in Osh have been flown home," said Sun Dali, deputy director of the Department of Consular Affairs with the Foreign Ministry. "But we will continue to pay attention to and contact the Chinese nationals who are still staying in Kyrgyzstan, and offer immediate assistance to them in light of the changes of the local situation."

Meanwhile, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said that the Chinese government has offered emergency humanitarian aid to Kyrgyzstan. The 5-million-yuan ($732,064) in assistance, including medicine, medical equipment, food, drinking water, blankets and tents was announced by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Beijing boosts holdings of US Debt: China has boosted its holdings of United States Treasury debt for the second straight month. The move is a gesture of assistance to Washington, easing concerns that lagging foreign demand --- and thus lower American exports --- will force the US Government to pay higher interest rates to finance its debt.

China's holdings of US Treasury securities rose by $5 billion to $900.2 billion in April, the US Treasury Department said. China is the largest foreign holder of Treasury securities, and the monthly gains in March and April come after six consecutive months when Beijing was either reducing its US holdings or keeping them constant.

The Chinese gesture to the US was made despite (or possibly because of) public exchanges between Beijing and Washington over the value of the Chinese currency.

China's Foreign Ministry on Monday responded to US calls for a rise in value of the yuan, thus assisting US exports to China,  saying that this was not to blame for the American trade deficit with China. The statement was also aimed at the US Congress, which has been threatening to press China over exchange rate policy.

During the first quarter of this year, US exports of goods to China increased about 50 percent compared to the same period in 2009.

The Latest on the Chinese Economy: China's consumer price index rose 3.1 percent in May compared to 2009, the National Bureau of Statistics has announced. This was a rise from April's figure of 2.8 percent and the trend earlier this year of 2.5 percent.

There may be further pressure on the economy: the producer price index rose 7.1 percent in May, up from April's 6.8 percent.

The official news was balanced by figures showing a 27.5 percent rise in foreign direct investment and a 48.5 percent rise in Chinese exports.

VP on Overseas Tour: Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping is travelling this week, making official visits to Bangladesh, Laos, New Zealand, and Australia.

As is often the case, the reasons for the trip are vague in Chinese official media, but the Australian and New Zealand legs, with meetings with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, are likely to focus on Pacific security. Laos and Bangladesh? Look for some signs regarding Chinese overseas investment.

Gaza Flotilla: Does This Video Show Israeli Commandos "Executing" Turkish-American Furkan Dogan?

A video of an incident in the Israeli raid on the Freedom Flotilla is circulating on the Internet. It allegedly shows two Israeli commandos: one is kicking someone lying on the deck while the other is shooting someone at very close range with a Remington 870 shotgun. Turkish sources claim that this clip depicts the 19-year-old American-born Furkan Dogan being executed. The teenager, according to a Turkish autopsy, was shot four times in the head and once in the chest.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlElXOJV4CA&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Furkan's father, Assistant Professor Ahmet Dogan, said: "My son was a U.S. citizen. That is why we want and expect America to start an investigation regarding my son Furkan's death, to condemn the situation and to help us for Israel's juristically being punished."

Meanwhile, the Turkish-based Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH) stated that new six ships have already been registered for a new convoy to Gaza in mid July.

Iran Overview: Striking Poses from Sanctions to Cyber-War to "Terrorism"

We closed last night by noting a couple of postures from the Iranian Government over its nuclear programme and supposed economic strength.

So while we look towards analysis of the significant developments in the political situation, we catch up this morning by noting some other poses and threats, beginning outside Iran.

US and Europe: We're Going to Get You

Following the UN resolution for tougher sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme, the Obama Administration has made the first public play of what it supposedly means. It has expanded US sanctions on Iran, imposing penalties on more than three dozen additional companies and individuals.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the new penalties were aimed at those who were helping Iran develop its nuclear and missile porgrammes and evade international sanctions.



"In the coming weeks we will continue to increase the financial pressure on Iran," Geithner said. "We will continuee to target Iran's support for terrorist organizations."

European Union governments have joined in with a draft statement, to be discussed at a summit today, that would not only enforce the UN sanctions by restricting "dual use” goods with potential military applications and imposing additional curbs on Iranian banks and shipping but also go further, targeting Iran’s oil and gas industries.

European penalties would affect “key sectors of the gas and oil industry with prohibition of new investment, technical assistance and transfers of technologies, equipment and services.”

Iran: We're Coming to Get You (on the Web)

Meanwhile in Tehran, Iranian officials were issuing yet another warning that they would most definitely catch anyone who dared use the Internet to oppose the regime.

Iran police chief Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam said a new "internet police" force was being created to "identify threats and remove them". The agency would be up and running "within the next couple of months," the security chief said, to deal with the "unique and serious threats are felt by users and the society" from the "relatively new" Internet. Ahmadi-Moghaddam continued, "Identifying these threats and removing them and passing new laws applicable in this space is part of an effort to prevent any harm."

The police chief's statement followed repeated declarations by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps of its Internet surveillance and sabotage operations to crush dissent.

"Don't Try and Get Us" --- Foreigners and Terrorists, Chapter 83

Iran, amidst more arrests before and after the first anniversary of the election, played up the allegation of foreign support of those seeking "regime change" by calling in the British Ambassador. The Islamic Republic News Agency reported that the message was, "The Islamic Republic of Iran demands a serious inquiry by the British government into this issue and a report of its findings."

The summoning of the Ambassador followed a Tuesday proclamation by Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi that Iranian forces had broken up a plot to bomb Tehran squares on 12 June: ""Two terrorist teams of hypocrites [the People's Mojahedin of Iran] were identified and their key members were arrested."