2200 GMT: The Dilemma. Paused when I read this statement from Trita Parsi: “Here is the central dilemma of Iranian policy: Iran’s greens need time, but Washington does not seem to think it can afford to wait.”
2150 GMT: Political Prisoner News. Reports that journalist Payman Aref has been released for ten days on a $100,000 bail.
2140 GMT: Today’s Super Spy Case. Here is one to watch: Italian authorities have rounded up five Iranians and two Italians (according to Associated Press, the BBC says two Iranians and five Italians), with two more Iranians being sought, on charges of sending arms to Iran in violation of the international embargo. Amongst those detained is the Rome correspondent of Iranian state television, Hamid Masouminejad.
2140 GMT: Persian2English reports that more than a thousand relatives of detainees gathered outside Evin Prison to commemorate Arbaeen, the 40th day of mourning after the religious occasion of Ashura. Demonstrators offered prayers and chanted “Allahu Akhbar (God is great)”.
1925 GMT: Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi, has issued a statement demanding the freeing of all political prisoners before 22 Bahman. Rahnavard, an academic at Tehran University, points to the problems that women have experienced under the regime and praises their passion on issues of freedom and equality.
1830 GMT: Catching Up. Highlighting a story that our readers noted this afternoon, Hassan Rassouli, a deputy of the Baran Foundation, headed by former President Mohammad Khatami, and Abolfazl Ghadiani, a member of central committee of the Mohajedin of Islamic Revolution party, were freed last night on bail. Read the rest of this entry »
Amidst harsh criticisms of Bashir’s possible arrival in Istanbul for the summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference this week — it was later confirmed that he would not attend — Erdogan said he did not believe that the Sudanese President was guilty of the crimes for which he was indicted by the International Criminal Court. However, Sudanese officials have already confirmed that Bashir will not come to Istanbul.
Then, Erdogan compared the Israeli offensive in Gaza and the continuing drama in Darfur. He said, “It is not possible for those who belong to the Muslim faith to carry out genocide….If there were such a thing in Darfur, we would be chasing this to the end.” He added that he “cannot discuss this [allegation for war crimes] with Netanyahu but I can easily discuss such issues with Omar al-Bashir”. Erdogan stated that Israel had committed greater crimes against Palestinians.
Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar Assad offered a caution to Erdogan earlier Sunday. He said that Turkey should maintain good relations with Israel so it could mediate Damascus-Jerusalem peace negotiations. Assad’s statement is a likely reaction to the assertion of Netanyahu that “Turkey cannot be a honest broker anymore” and suggestions that countries such as Croatia and Italy could step in as a mediator.
In the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz,Yitzhak Laor offers a provocative and supportive argument of Erdogan’s position vis-a-vis Israel, stating that Israel’s apartheid is worse than South Africa’s. Settlements and policies of discrimination in Israel. backed by Washington, are creating a worse atmosphere for Palestinians than the past in South Africa, where black people could at least make a living.
On Thursday, Palestinian Authority agreed to delay until March a vote set for today at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. If the report had been endorsed by the Council, the UN Security Council would have been able to bring Israelis before the International Criminal Court at The Hague for prosecution of war crimes or crimes against humanity. Although support for the report was strong enough to get a general endorsement, six nations (US, Belgium, France, Italy, Norway, and Britain) could not find common ground on the text with the other 41 members. Read the rest of this entry »
Enduring America, 17 September: “It’s a stunning if risky move. The Obama Administration is hoping to move the agenda away from specific cases such as Iran towards a wider framework encompassing all existing or aspiring nuclear powers. In the short term, that means dropping the deadline of either September or December for Tehran to give way on all demands regarding its nuclear programme.”
At a historic summit at the United Nations on Thursday, aU.S.-drafted resolution calling on nuclear weapons states to scrap their deadly arsenals was approved by the Security. After the vote, President Obama said:
The historic resolution we just adopted enshrines our shared commitment to a goal of a world without nuclear weapons. And it brings Security Council agreement on a broad framework for action to reduce nuclear dangers as we work toward that goal.
Meanwhile, as Iran continues to be test case of nuclear proliferation for many, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said that the G8 nations are giving Iran until the end of the year to commit to an end of uranium enrichment, thus avoiding new sanctions.
So the continuing manoevuring between Teheran and Moscow appears to be benefitting the Obama Administration, with Russia having no problem with a “wait and see approach” for three months.
Transcript of President Barack Obama’s speech at the UN Security Council:
THE PRESIDENT: I wish to warmly welcome the distinguished heads of state and government, the General — the Secretary General, the Director General of the IAEA, ministers and other distinguished representatives present in the Security Council chamber. Your presence is an affirmation of the importance of the subject matter to be discussed. Read the rest of this entry »
Israel: Somewhere A Report Proves Our Case. Really: Not satisfied with the latest report of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran’s nuclear programme, Israeli officials have insisted that the IAEA is sitting on another classified report on Iran’s nuclear programme and called on the Agency to release it.
Italy Jumps Into Israel-Sweden Dispute: Haaretz reports that Italy’s foreign minister, Franco Frattini, told the newspaper that he and Swedish counterpart Carl Bildt would work to pass a resolution strongly condemning anti-Semitism and taking action against any manifestation of it throughout the European Union at the EU foreign ministers’ meeting next week. Read the rest of this entry »
President Barack Obama, at his press conference after the end of the G8 Summit in L’Aquila, Italy, focused on the environment, global economy, and international security. As for Iran, he reiterated the deep concern of the international community over the extreme violence against demonstrations and stated that the door for negotiation is open to Tehran until September, when the G20 Summit will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the US.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Please, everybody have a seat. I apologize for being a little bit late. Good afternoon.
We have just concluded the final session of what has been a highly productive summit here in L’Aquila. And before I discuss what we’ve achieved these past three days, I’d like to take a moment to express my thanks to Prime Minister Berlusconi, his staff, the people of Italy for their extraordinary hospitality and hard work in setting up this summit. And particularly I want to thank the people of L’Aquila for welcoming us to your home at this difficult time. We’ve seen how you’ve come together and taken care of each other, and we’ve been moved by your courage and your resilience and your kindness. Read the rest of this entry »
2200 GMT: The Dilemma. Paused when I read this statement from Trita Parsi: “Here is the central dilemma of Iranian policy: Iran’s greens need time, but Washington does not seem to think it can afford to wait.”
On Sunday, 
On Thursday, 
Enduring America, 17 September: “It’s a stunning if risky move. The Obama Administration is hoping to move the agenda away from specific cases such as Iran towards a wider framework encompassing all existing or aspiring nuclear powers. In the short term, that means dropping the deadline of either September or December for Tehran to give way on all demands regarding its nuclear programme.”
Israel: Somewhere A Report Proves Our Case. Really: Not satisfied with the latest report of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran’s nuclear programme, Israeli officials have insisted that the IAEA is sitting on 
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