Friday
Nov132009
The Latest from Iran (13 November): Accusations
Friday, November 13, 2009 at 15:09
NEW Iran Text: Khatami on Legitimate Protest and Illegitimate Government (13 November)
Iran: Is This an “Unravelling” Protest Beyond Mousavi and Karroubi?
Iran: Why is Washington Belittling the Green Movement?
The Latest from Iran (12 November): Ahmadinejad Moves for Nuclear Deal
1805 GMT: Another Move for the Nuke Deal. Looks like the Ahmadinejad-military axis has put down another marker with the statement of the head of Iran’s armed forces, Major-General Hassan Firouzabadi, supporting the uranium enrichment agreement: “We will not suffer a loss from the exchange of fuel. Rather, in obtaining fuel enriched to 20 percent as needed by the reactors, nearly one million of our people would take advantage of its medical possibilities annually....The quantity of 3.5 percent enriched uranium [to be shipped out] is not so large as to cause damage to Iran’s supply."
1605 GMT: What's Happening at the Revolutionary Guard? Radio Fardi summarises the changes in higher commander at the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, including the head of the Tehran command. I'll have to leave it to others to assess whether these are "normal" changes in the organisation or whether there is a political story behind them.
1515 GMT: Confidence or Concern? Reuters has now picked up the statement of Mojtaba Zolnour, a representative of the Supreme Leader in the Revolutionary Guard, that the Assembly of Experts cannot remove him from office.
Zolnour told a gathering of Khamenei's representatives in Iranian universities, "The members of the assembly...do not appoint the Supreme Leader, rather they discover him and it is not that they would be able to remove him any time they wish so."
Now is Zolnour saying this because he is feeling good that the Supreme Leader is secure in his seat of power or is his warning prompted by fears that members of the Assembly, who raised the possibility of removal in August/September, may not be pacified?
1500 GMT: Football Story of Day. Or maybe, thanks to the Green movement, a non-story because there was a non-crowd. Persian2English writes about a disappointing turnout for the Iran v. Iceland match in Azadi stadium on Tuesday, citing state media: “In spite of efforts...to have spectators show up in the stadium, only 100 attended to watch the match between the two countries' national teams." (Goal.com say "only a few hundred" turned up to watch a "low-key friendly".)
1400 GMT: We've posted a long statement, adapted from the website linked to Mir Hossein Mousavi, made by former President Mohammad Khatami to academics. Khatami appears to be going to great lengths to set out "legitimate" protest (as opposed to "radical" activity) criticising the failure of the Government to serve the Iranian people and uphold the Constitution.
1315 GMT: Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi has announced that Shapour Kazemi, the brother of Mir Hossein Mousavi's wife Zahra Rahnavard, will be tried in Revolutionary Court.
1200 GMT: Your Tehran Friday Prayer Report.
Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the former head of the Guardian Council, used his speech to put 13 Aban in the "right" context. The presence of students has demonstrated the Revolution's resolve against the "enemy flag" of the United States. Washington also gave Jannati the opportunity to attack the Iranian opposition --- despite the fact that he did not see them on 13 Aban --- "$55 million" authorised by the US for subversive activities.
1100 GMT: Persian2English reports on the Revolutionary Court's sentencing of Hassan Salamat, a master’s student at Tehran University, to four years in prison. Salamat was arrested in post-election protests on charges of "propagating aganist the regime and conspiracy to disrupt national security". He spent two months in Evin Prison before being released on $200,000 bail.
1010 GMT: An intriguing interview with Tehran Chief Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi on the Islamic Republic News Agency website. It's intriguing in part because Doulatabadi is clearly on the defensive about allegations of abuses by the regime. He admits that the Constitution in principle puts forth open trials but gives a convoluted explanation as to why this is not possible. He also expresses the hope that some trials can be completed in the next month.
Even more interesting, however, is the politics in the interview. Pointing to the regime's ongoing manoeuvres against former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, Doulatabadi says Rafsanjani's son Mehdi Hashemi --- accused in the first Tehran trial of corruption and intrigue in the Preisdential election --- should return from Britain to Iran if he believes the charges are false.
0825 GMT: Just catching up with news this morning.
Both The New York Times and Press TV share an interest in the seizure by US Federal prosecutors of properties, including the land where four mosques sit, of the Alavi Foundation. The prosecutors claim that the Foundation, whose 36-story office tower is also being taken, is illegally providing money and other services to Iran.
The Los Angeles Times goes instead for The Bomb, with a survey considering the reactions of Arab states and people to Iran's nuclear programme.
As for us, we're starting the day with two features outlining our concern over "Western" images of the Green Wave, which may point to a US Government policy shifting against the Iranian opposition: "Why is Washington Belittling the Green Movement?" and "Is This an 'Unravelling' Protest Beyond Mousavi and Karroubi?"
Iran: Is This an “Unravelling” Protest Beyond Mousavi and Karroubi?
Iran: Why is Washington Belittling the Green Movement?
The Latest from Iran (12 November): Ahmadinejad Moves for Nuclear Deal
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1805 GMT: Another Move for the Nuke Deal. Looks like the Ahmadinejad-military axis has put down another marker with the statement of the head of Iran’s armed forces, Major-General Hassan Firouzabadi, supporting the uranium enrichment agreement: “We will not suffer a loss from the exchange of fuel. Rather, in obtaining fuel enriched to 20 percent as needed by the reactors, nearly one million of our people would take advantage of its medical possibilities annually....The quantity of 3.5 percent enriched uranium [to be shipped out] is not so large as to cause damage to Iran’s supply."1605 GMT: What's Happening at the Revolutionary Guard? Radio Fardi summarises the changes in higher commander at the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, including the head of the Tehran command. I'll have to leave it to others to assess whether these are "normal" changes in the organisation or whether there is a political story behind them.
1515 GMT: Confidence or Concern? Reuters has now picked up the statement of Mojtaba Zolnour, a representative of the Supreme Leader in the Revolutionary Guard, that the Assembly of Experts cannot remove him from office.
Zolnour told a gathering of Khamenei's representatives in Iranian universities, "The members of the assembly...do not appoint the Supreme Leader, rather they discover him and it is not that they would be able to remove him any time they wish so."
Now is Zolnour saying this because he is feeling good that the Supreme Leader is secure in his seat of power or is his warning prompted by fears that members of the Assembly, who raised the possibility of removal in August/September, may not be pacified?
1500 GMT: Football Story of Day. Or maybe, thanks to the Green movement, a non-story because there was a non-crowd. Persian2English writes about a disappointing turnout for the Iran v. Iceland match in Azadi stadium on Tuesday, citing state media: “In spite of efforts...to have spectators show up in the stadium, only 100 attended to watch the match between the two countries' national teams." (Goal.com say "only a few hundred" turned up to watch a "low-key friendly".)
1400 GMT: We've posted a long statement, adapted from the website linked to Mir Hossein Mousavi, made by former President Mohammad Khatami to academics. Khatami appears to be going to great lengths to set out "legitimate" protest (as opposed to "radical" activity) criticising the failure of the Government to serve the Iranian people and uphold the Constitution.
1315 GMT: Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi has announced that Shapour Kazemi, the brother of Mir Hossein Mousavi's wife Zahra Rahnavard, will be tried in Revolutionary Court.
1200 GMT: Your Tehran Friday Prayer Report.
Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the former head of the Guardian Council, used his speech to put 13 Aban in the "right" context. The presence of students has demonstrated the Revolution's resolve against the "enemy flag" of the United States. Washington also gave Jannati the opportunity to attack the Iranian opposition --- despite the fact that he did not see them on 13 Aban --- "$55 million" authorised by the US for subversive activities.
1100 GMT: Persian2English reports on the Revolutionary Court's sentencing of Hassan Salamat, a master’s student at Tehran University, to four years in prison. Salamat was arrested in post-election protests on charges of "propagating aganist the regime and conspiracy to disrupt national security". He spent two months in Evin Prison before being released on $200,000 bail.
1010 GMT: An intriguing interview with Tehran Chief Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi on the Islamic Republic News Agency website. It's intriguing in part because Doulatabadi is clearly on the defensive about allegations of abuses by the regime. He admits that the Constitution in principle puts forth open trials but gives a convoluted explanation as to why this is not possible. He also expresses the hope that some trials can be completed in the next month.
Even more interesting, however, is the politics in the interview. Pointing to the regime's ongoing manoeuvres against former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, Doulatabadi says Rafsanjani's son Mehdi Hashemi --- accused in the first Tehran trial of corruption and intrigue in the Preisdential election --- should return from Britain to Iran if he believes the charges are false.
0825 GMT: Just catching up with news this morning.
Both The New York Times and Press TV share an interest in the seizure by US Federal prosecutors of properties, including the land where four mosques sit, of the Alavi Foundation. The prosecutors claim that the Foundation, whose 36-story office tower is also being taken, is illegally providing money and other services to Iran.
The Los Angeles Times goes instead for The Bomb, with a survey considering the reactions of Arab states and people to Iran's nuclear programme.
As for us, we're starting the day with two features outlining our concern over "Western" images of the Green Wave, which may point to a US Government policy shifting against the Iranian opposition: "Why is Washington Belittling the Green Movement?" and "Is This an 'Unravelling' Protest Beyond Mousavi and Karroubi?"
tagged Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi, Alavi Foundation, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Goal.com, Guardian Council, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hassan Firouzabadi, Hassan Salamat, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Islamic Republic News Agency, Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, Los Angeles Times, Mehdi Hashemi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohammad Khatami, Mojtaba Zolnour, New York Times, Nuclear Proliferation, Persian2English, Press TV, Reuters, Shapour Kazemi, Zahra Rahnavard in Middle East & Iran
Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi, Alavi Foundation, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Goal.com, Guardian Council, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hassan Firouzabadi, Hassan Salamat, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Islamic Republic News Agency, Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, Los Angeles Times, Mehdi Hashemi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohammad Khatami, Mojtaba Zolnour, New York Times, Nuclear Proliferation, Persian2English, Press TV, Reuters, Shapour Kazemi, Zahra Rahnavard in Middle East & Iran
Reader Comments (12)
Did you guys missed this article or What?
Iran advocacy group said to skirt lobby rules: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/13/exclusive-did-iranian-advocacy-group-violate-laws/?feat=home_cube_position1
Gheseh2000,
No, I saw it first thing this morning. My immediate reaction is that these serious charges deserve more than a thinly-sourced attack on NIAC posing as "news" --- Lake's piece as a "reputable" journalist follows a loud campaign in The Weekly Standard to take down NIAC.
Given both the significance of the case and the politics around it, I am working through material before (hopefully) posting an analysis on Saturday.
S.
Here's some background on the NIAC lawsuit:
http://www.niacouncil.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1539
http://www.niacouncil.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1119&Itemid=59
And NIAC's reponse to the Times article:
http://www.niacouncil.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1551&Itemid=59
The MEK has had a policy of trying to defame anyone who opposes war and sanctions against Iran for some time. They would like to see the US invade Iran and place them in power because they certainly wouldn't get elected in a democratic Iran.
NIAC is suspicious of serving the regime's interests in the USA for many years. The same goes perhaps for AIPAC. As long as Iran has no democratic structures to control domestic economy, any organisation can claim to defend the rights of Iranians abroad. In any case, contacts with companies in Iran hint to lobbyism for the regime.
Atieh Bahar Consulting does not disclose the list of its clients, but the reports point to affiliations to nearly every important economic sector, including automotive sector, telecommunications, copper and steel industry: http://www.atiehbahar.com/Reports.aspx
Automotive companies (Iran Khodro, Saipa) and telecommunications are now in the hands of the IRGC...
I have been very skeptical of the number of people suddenly and loudly insisting that this one article on NIAC "proves" Trita Parsi is a Regime spy. When I read it, it sounded more like one guy starting a small organization by himself and possibly filing the wrong tax paperwork for his group, and even THAT had no actual proof, just accusations based on years-old emails. Maybe when there's actual court filings, if ever, you'd have a story worth digging into but as it is, this is just flimsy.
NIAC actions speak loud for itself. They are funded by the Iranian regime and they are working to preserve interest of Iran regime. On November 4 (13 Aban) Trita Parsi and NIAC members met with some lawmakers in the capital building to push their agenda of no sanction no military action against Iran -the same day people especially women were being beaten in streets in Iran . NIAC has stated several times in its blog that they were lobbying US government against any sanctions or military actions.
John Limbert is on NIAC board of Director. We know Limbert was and is sympathetic to the mullah regime in Iran. Limber wife is an Iranian. I would be interested to know her family connection to the regime. Does anyone know that or does anyone know her maiden name?
Somebody,
How do you propose to stop the killing and hanging of Iran best asset, Iranians youth and educated? You wrote one time that you were proud of what your parents did in 1978 and 1979. Who in his/her right mind would be proud of that? What did Iranians gain from Khomeini occupation? Thirty-Five million Iranians have been born in captivity. How many more million have to follow their faith before people like the 100- member NIAC organization to wake up? NIAC members are thousands of miles away and have no clue what people are enduring in Iran. NIAC and other interest groups need to leave people in Iran alone.
@Megan
John Limbert was a hostage in the 1979 embassy takeover in Tehran. You're spreading baseless FUD about him and the NIAC. I too, like most Iranians, am against sanctions and war. Am I an agent of the IRI too?
Yes, I am proud of what our parents did in 1979. They shattered an autocratic institution, the monarchy, both from the political sphere and from national psychology. It's not easy to undo a 2500 year absolutist cultural tradition.
In the next few years, our people will hopefully shatter another one that has plagued our country. Fundamentalist and autocratic Islam and thereby page the way for a free democratic society, as envisaged by our forefathers during the constitutional revolution.
Anyway, I think this statement from the NIAC response to the Times article best characterises what's happening here:
"The judge denied Dai’s motion to dismiss the case on 18 out of 19 counts. Realizing this, the defendants have decided to maliciously leak those documents to a reporter at the Washington Times, Eli Lake, in an attempt to litigate the case in the media rather than in a court of law."
Remember, it was the NIAC that started this lawsuit knowing full well that it would be under the full scrutiny of the court to prove it is not connected with the government of Iran. Maybe we should wait for the ruling of the court before we let ourselves be spun by neocons and MEK members.
Dear Somebody, I frankly do not find Megan's writing nor thinking worthy of a response but I would like to thank you for providing one anyway. Megan would like to save Iran, by having hundreds of thousands of Iranians incinerated by US (Israeli?) bombs. She reminds of the US Marine in Vietnam who quipped: "We had to destroy the village to save it". NIAC's greatest crime is becoming a possible David to AIPAC's Goliath. Change in Iran will come through the perseverance of its civil society, not through the neocons' (or Washington Times') barrel of a gun.
What Babak said.
Megan's comments are beyond stupefying.
Somebody,
“John Limbert was a hostage in the 1979 embassy takeover in Tehran.”
I am well aware of John Limbert activities in Iran including but not limited to his time as hostage. You need to dig deeper to get the full picture.
With regard to your support for no sanctions:
I do not know you to suggest you are or you are not a regime sympathizer. But I know you are day dreaming if you think green ribbons will bring about demise of the current regime which then leads to democracy.
With regard to NIAC:
Future will show its true nature.
With regard to; “It’s not easy to undo a 2500 year absolutist cultural tradition.”
I have news for you It DID NOT, it only change uniform from 3 or 2- piece suit to mullah robe and turban. Proclamation like that is scary and tells me we have not learned anything and we are doomed to repeat the 1979.
Babak,
Please do not invoke Vietnam. It is ridiculous. If you read my comments carefully you will see that I suggested that organizations whose members live in democratic society and have no clue about daily struggle in Iran cannot and should not decide for Iranians. I want them to leave Iran alone.
Remember Ahmed Abdel Hadi Chalabi and his bogus insider information about Iraq and the road to democracy? NIAC seems to be reincarnation of Chalabi with different strategic direction. One thing is terribly similar though; its claim of knowing what works in Iran.
No one but Iranians living in Iran knows what works for them not you and not any of us who can write and speak freely and have enough to eat.
Pedestrian,
Read what I wrote for Babak, dude. Do you not get enough traffic in your blog?
I for one find Megan's bloodthirsty fantasies highly entertaining. It's just a matter of time before she tells us in exquisite details how she wants the SL and AN torn apart by live lions like in ancient Rome.