Iranian Alert -- January 7, 2004 -- IRAN LIVE THREAD --Americans for Regime Change in Iran

The US media almost entirely ignores news regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran. As Tony Snow of the Fox News Network has put it, “this is probably the most under-reported news story of the year.” But most American’s are unaware that the Islamic Republic of Iran is NOT supported by the masses of Iranians today. Modern Iranians are among the most pro-American in the Middle East.

There is a popular revolt against the Iranian regime brewing in Iran today. Starting June 10th of this year, Iranians have begun taking to the streets to express their desire for a regime change. Most want to replace the regime with a secular democracy. Many even want the US to over throw their government.

The regime is working hard to keep the news about the protest movement in Iran from being reported. Unfortunately, the regime has successfully prohibited western news reporters from covering the demonstrations. The voices of discontent within Iran are sometime murdered, more often imprisoned. Still the people continue to take to the streets to demonstrate against the regime.

In support of this revolt, Iranians in America have been broadcasting news stories by satellite into Iran. This 21st century news link has greatly encouraged these protests. The regime has been attempting to jam the signals, and locate the satellite dishes. Still the people violate the law and listen to these broadcasts. Iranians also use the Internet and the regime attempts to block their access to news against the regime. In spite of this, many Iranians inside of Iran read these posts daily to keep informed of the events in their own country.

This daily thread contains nearly all of the English news reports on Iran. It is thorough. If you follow this thread you will witness, I believe, the transformation of a nation. This daily thread provides a central place where those interested in the events in Iran can find the best news and commentary. The news stories and commentary will from time to time include material from the regime itself. But if you read the post you will discover for yourself, the real story of what is occurring in Iran and its effects on the war on terror.

I am not of Iranian heritage. I am an American committed to supporting the efforts of those in Iran seeking to replace their government with a secular democracy. I am in contact with leaders of the Iranian community here in the United States and in Iran itself.

If you read the daily posts you will gain a better understanding of the US war on terrorism, the Middle East and why we need to support a change of regime in Iran. Feel free to ask your questions and post news stories you discover in the weeks to come.

If all goes well Iran will be free soon and I am convinced become a major ally in the war on terrorism. The regime will fall. Iran will be free. It is just a matter of time.

Iran mulls renaming Tehran street

2004/01/07
IRIB English News
Iran

Tehran,Iran- Tehran City Council will examine Tuesday whether to rename a street in the Iranian capital, which is a bone of contention in ties with Egypt.

The north Tehran street Khalid Slamboli was a stumblingblock in Tehran-Cairo ties after the two Muslim nations' relations was sent into a tailspin since the Israeli-Egypt agreement in Camp David.

The street name was changed after the Egyptian government executed Khalid Slamboli, an army officer who gunned down the Egyptian President Anwar Sadat during a parade ceremony.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher said Sunday that Cairo considers the issue of Camp David as belonging to the past, stressing that Egypt is now eager to promote ties with the Islamic Republic. Maher, in an interview with IRNA and the Central News Bureau, said Egypt considers the case of the Camp David accords as closed, stressing that the interest of Tehran and Cairo today is in the promotion of mutual cooperation. "I don't think using the issue of Camp David will be useful, because it does not exist anymore and is merely a thing of the past," he said. "There have been many changes and I believe that this case between Iran and Egypt has already been closed... what exists now is the interest of Iran and Egypt to work with each other." The Islamic Republic severed its ties with Egypt after former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat signed the Camp David peace treaty with the Zionist regime and harbored Iran's defunct Shah. The two countries now run interest sections through foreign embassies in Cairo and Tehran, operated by Iranian and Egyptian diplomats. Maher highlighted the need for Iran and Egypt to struggle together for the establishment of justice in the occupied territories of Palestine, and for promoting peace and stability in the Middle East. "Therefore, there is no reason to stop because of what does not exist anymore and has become part of the past," he said. "What is important is that we will continue our assistance to Palestine and we know that Iran will also help the Palestinian people." Elsewhere in his remarks, Maher termed the talks between Iran's President Mohammad Khatami with his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak in Geneva as very important. He stressed that the meeting of the Iranian and Egyptian presidents had been an opportunity for them to discuss issues relating to bilateral relations and international developments. Khatami and Mubarak met in Geneva last December on the sidelines of a UN technology summit. Iran said later it had invited the Egyptian President to attend a summit of Eight Developing Islamic Countries (D-8) in Tehran in February. Khatami later told reporters that he had held comprehensive talks with Mubarak in Geneva, and expressed hope that the talks would put an end to years of estrangement. He, however, admitted that there exist differences between the two strong Muslim countries over olitical and ideological issues'. "Both Iranian and Egyptian official are determined and willing to remove obstacles on the way (of rapprochement). I hope the negotiations will bear favorable fruits," Khatami told reporters after submitting a draft budget bill to the Majlis. He also hoped that Egyptians' worries will be removed and "we would not have to relegate any of our values and principles". Maher highlighted the historical and cultural affinities between Iran and Egypt, stressing that he considered the promotion of relations between Iran and Egypt as "a natural development". He said it is natural that both countries reach a point to use their cultural and historical affinities to forge a sustainable political relation. "Therefore, I believe what has been carried out over the past years has been making groups in cultural, economic and regional areas that all have had a natural growth," the Egyptian minister said. "This growth has been based on the determination of the Iranian and Egyptian nations and has also been in line with the interests of both countries, as well as those of the whole region and the Muslim world". Maher said Tehran and Cairo both advocate peace, security and justice, and that each time there has been a meeting between the officials of the two countries, there has been an understanding of the many mutual common points. He added that the Iranian and Egyptian officials in their meetings have always stressed that these common points must be reinforced for the sake of the interests of their respective nations, as well as the aspiration for peace, justice and security. Maher said Iran and Egypt have for many years taken the initiative at the United Nations to call for making the Middle East a region free from weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). "What is important is that such cooperation was carried out when we had no official contact with each other," he said. "Therefore, what has happened has been a natural process and the meeting of the Iranian and Egyptian presidents was the significant point of that process." Maher further recalled the efforts by Iran and Egypt at the United Nations to urge the international community to pressure Israel to sign the nuclear safeguards agreements and stop its nuclear weapons program. "Iran and Egypt from the beginning took the leadership of this issue, and had a strong cooperation to that effect, as well as other areas," he said. "Iran and Egypt are now preparing the ground to cement their relations, and these efforts must continue." Maher further hailed Iran's decision to sign the additional protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as an "important step", stressing that other countries should also take Iran's lead in that connection. He said Israel should not be allowed to challenge the world in the area of its nuclear activities while the world is struggling for the elimination of WMDs and the implementation of an international supervision on them. "I believe the struggle to universalize a treaty that would condemn the WMDs will continue thanks to the cooperation of Iran as well as other countries that share a common viewpoint in that area," Maher said. "There should be no exception to that effect."

http://www.iribnews.com/Full_en.asp?news_id=195857&n=31
----
Comment: "Ouch... Do these jerks think?"

Khatami Seeks More US Signals to End Mistrust

January 07, 2004
AFP
IranMania

TEHRAN -- President Mohammad Khatami reiterated Tuesday that Iran could not trust the United States without more signs of a real change in policy towards the Islamic republic, particularly on the nuclear issue.

"Iran's mistrust towards the United States will decrease only when Tehran witnesses that it is continuing positive measures that would depict a real change in US policy towards Iran," the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.

In a major gesture, the United States sent a team of aid workers to help in relief efforts after the devastating quake in the Iranian city of Bam that killed up to 35,000 people.

The United States also temporarily and partially suspended unilateral sanctions against Iran, which it has lumped into an "axis of evil," and offered to send a high-level delegation to follow up on the aid.

Iran, however, turned down the offer and said the time was not yet right for contacts at such a level.

Iran and the United States cut diplomatic ties after the 1979 Islamic revolution saw the US-backed shah overthrown and 52 Americans held hostage at the American embassy here for 444 days.

"The United States is now facing a test to give up its inappropriate policies, and refrain from taking any action against Iran in international forums such as the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)," Khatami said after talks with Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi of Japan, a close US ally.

"The United States should rather approve Iran's proper behaviour and recognise Iran's right to possess peaceful nuclear technology under the supervision of the IAEA," he said.

Washington has accused Tehran of secretly building the atomic bomb under the cover of a nuclear power programme, allegations denied by Iran which has agreed to tougher inspections by the IAEA.

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=21358&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs

Physics, History and the Changing Middle East

January 07, 2004
The Daily Star
Rami G. Khouri

Recent developments suggest that the Middle East region may be on the verge of an era of profound political change. Or, we may be living a mirage of transformation, rather than the real thing.

Among the possible signs of change are the Syrian president’s historic visit to Turkey this week, Iranian signs of desiring a rapprochement with Egypt, Libya’s decision to unilaterally end its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program, Syria’s offer to negotiate a permanent peace with Israel, and both the continuing violence and the movement for reform inside Saudi Arabia. When the giants of the region Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey all seem to be exploring options for new policies, we should pay attention.

These may be only passing events of little permanent impact. My hunch is that they probably reflect something deeper the instinctive feeling that relationships and policies in the Mideast region must change for the better.

This mirrors the fundamental unsustainability of current trends and ideologies. Some of these developments have been initiated, or just hastened, by the two new interlinked policies that define Mideast-US-Western relations: The first is the terror campaign by various jihadi Islamist groups against targets in the US, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and elsewhere, and the second is the consequent American-defined-and-led “war against terror” that itself reflects the activist, militant worldview of neoconservatives who have captured much of US foreign policymaking.

The wars that changed regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq, the parallel but smaller scale American-Israeli attempt to change the Palestinian leadership and Washington’s moves to pressure Syria and Iran with punitive legislation and embargos all fall within the very explicit American neoconservative agenda that advocates securing American (and Israeli) interests by using US force to change Middle Eastern leaderships, economic systems, state ideologies and alliances.

There is no doubt the compelling laws of physics rule here that the threat and use of American force will induce short-term political change. Libya’s abrupt acceptance of responsibility for the Lockerbie plane bombing and ending its WMD program dramatically confirm this age-old political adage: When an angry giant holds a loaded gun to your face and you are standing naked and alone, you treat the angry giant nicely and obsequiously give him what he demands. Self-preservation has always been a great generator of humility and compliance.

Yet the laws of physics are counterbalanced by the equally compelling laws of history. These suggest that American threats and Anglo-American armadas will indeed achieve some immediate desired changes, in both native regimes and behavior in the Middle East. In the long run, however, local conditions in the Middle East, or in any other part of the world, will be determined not by the dictates of imperial foreign armies, but by the strength of the sense of collective dignity and well-being among the local folks. After the angry giant shoots thousands of natives, and thousands more stand up to resist, the angry giant eventually tends to pack up and go home. Self-preservation makes people and nations do that sort of thing, which is why imperial adventures tend eventually to collapse in a heap of colonial contradictions.

The important point about events in the region today is that local leaders are feeling and responding to two simultaneous pressures for change: external pressures from the Anglo-American armada, and internal pressures from Middle Eastern political and economic systems that are widely seen as having failed to provide their people with much beyond subsistence living standards. Few people are dying of hunger or lack of medical care in the Middle East, but few also are whooping for joy.

Indigenous Middle Eastern pressures for change reflect a fierce combination of political discontent, economic stress, environmental vulnerability and the indignities of ordinary people who feel abused by their own security-minded national power structures, Israel, the US, global economic forces, multinational institutions and other forces and powers. This combination of complaints is usually deadly to the status quo, as we saw most recently in Georgia where regime change was the will of the people, who then elected a new leadership. Why domestic and foreign pressures do not lead to political changes within Middle Eastern countries is one of the great riddles of the modern age.

Some leaders in the region who feel the pressures of change respond by making some of the political moves we witness today. Yet the causes and consequences of all this remain unclear. The best scenario would be for indigenous forces to engage in public policymaking and steer change towards genuine democracy anchored in native identities and values.

The worst case, which seems to prevail today, is for change to be managed by unelected and unaccountable leaders who abruptly revise national policies primarily to preserve their incumbency.

Change and “reform” will be neither credible nor lasting if they are driven by foreign military threats, and are defined by lone Middle Eastern leaders or cliques who are motivated mainly by preserving their autocracies and oligarchies. Until Arab, Iranian and other citizens in the Middle East democratically contribute to national policymaking and transformation, most changes taking place now will remain superficial, reactionary and illusory as both physics and history would suggest.

Rami G. Khouri is the executive editor of The Daily Star

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/opinion/07_01_04_e.asp

Jordanian Queen Rania to Visit Bam

January 07, 2004
Jordan Times
JT

AMMAN -- Her Majesty Queen Rania will visit the Iranian city of Bam today to deliver humanitarian aid and relief to victims of last month's devastating earthquake, which claimed the lives of more than 30,000 people and left over 50,000 injured.

The one-day visit, during which the Queen will distribute medical supplies, blankets and heaters to thousands of homeless families, is part of international efforts to alleviate the suffering of those hit by the natural disaster.

The earthquake — which struck on Dec. 26 — destroyed 75 per cent of the ancient city including the 2,000-year-old citadel of Bam, one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale, the quake flattened the ancient mud city, leaving thousands dead under the rubble and thousands more homeless, suffering in freezing weather conditions.

A barrage of emergency responses came from global communities and humanitarian organisations following the disaster.

Four Jordanian planes equipped with relief and medical supplies were sent to Iran two days after the quake.

A military field hospital was also deployed in the devastated city and began providing round-the-clock medical services to the survivors. A seven-member rescue team from the Civil Defence Department was also dispatched to join thousands of international search and rescue teams looking for survivors.

Until Jan. 1 around 17 tonnes of relief supplies had been dispatched by the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation.

A fifth plane — a C-130 military plane — carrying further relief including medical supplies, tents, blankets, heaters and food parcels, will accompany Queen Rania.

http://www.jordantimes.com/Wed/homenews/homenews4.htm

America Has a Choice: Accommodate Evil, or Defeat it

January 07, 2004
TallaHassee Democrat
Cal Thomas

It seemed like a good idea. The Bush administration would use the earthquake tragedy in Iran that killed at least 30,000 people not only as an opportunity to show the United States was eager to alleviate international tragedy but also as a diplomatic wedge. Some officials believed that, as humanitarian aid was provided, discussions might open that could lead to a new relationship between the two countries.

President Bush stated the potential political benefits when he said, "What we're doing in Iran is we're showing the Iranian people that American people care, that we've got great compassion for human suffering."

The United States would follow up its international version of compassionate conservatism with a high-level diplomatic team, headed by Sen. (and former Red Cross President) Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.). There was talk of sending a member of the Bush family along in case further evidence was needed to persuade the Iranian dictatorship of our sincerity. It would have been the first public U.S. diplomatic effort in Iran since the 444-day hostage ordeal when Iranian "students" held 52 Americans, releasing them the day Ronald Reagan was inaugurated because they rightly concluded that if they didn't, Tehran might be turned into a parking lot.

Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed optimism about the overture to Iran. He cited "encouraging" moves by the Islamic republic in recent months, which have included an agreement by Iranian leaders to allow "surprise" inspections of the country's nuclear energy program and diplomatic overtures to moderate Arab governments.

Iran's President, Mohammad Khatami, threw cold water on the U.S. wishful thinking when he said that while American aid to earthquake victims was welcome, it would not alter our relations. Iran understands the impossibility of making bargains with "the Great Satan." The U.S. government should take a similar view. Evil cannot be accommodated. It must be defeated.

In the 1980s, there were pleadings by the American left to decrease tensions with the Soviet Union. The proposal was for the Reagan administration to cease deploying missiles in Europe to counter a Soviet buildup and, instead, to unilaterally disarm in order to show Moscow we meant Russia no harm. At the time I said the strategy appeared to have been designed to make the Soviet army laugh themselves to death, but there would be enough of them left over to invade and subdue us.

Reagan understood that the "evil empire" of the 20th century could not be accommodated but had to be defeated. He was right, and his detractors were famously wrong.

While the Bush administration's provision of humanitarian aid to Iran is the right and moral thing to do - and might, in fact, further encourage young reformers in the country - the old and hard-line religious leadership still dominates. Iranian radio, controlled by the mullahs, continues to spew anti-American venom.

The United States has two options. It can fail to follow through on its initial blow in Iraq, thus empowering and encouraging America's enemies everywhere, or it can deal a knockout blow to terrorism by finishing the job.

As we saw with the Soviet Union, resolve is often enough to achieve American objectives. As long as American diplomats think humanitarian aid and political niceties will lessen the threat against us, we will continue to be threatened.ss

It is to be hoped the administration knows these things. "Peace Through Strength" worked as more than a slogan against the Soviet Union. It will work again with members of the "axis of evil."

Contact Cal Thomas via www.calthomas.com.

http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/opinion/7646514.htm

Wednesday January 7, 22:41 PM

"Maximum alert" in southwest Iran as 26 tremors hit in quick succession

Iranian authorities put a major oil- and gas-producing area in southwest Iran on a state of "maximum alert" after 26 earth tremors jolted the region in less than 36 hours, state TV reported.

The measure, ordered by President Mohammad Khatami, was taken in and around the towns of Masjed Soleiman, Izeh and Baghmalek -- situated around 450 kilometres (280 miles) southwest of Tehran in Khuzestan province.

The report said a succession of tremors, measuring between 2.7 and 4.9 on the Richter scale, had jolted the area since early Tuesday.

Iran has been on a quake footing after a massive earthquake hit the southeastern city of Bam on December 26, killing up to 35,000 people.

"The president has given the order to the concerned services to be on maximum alert and we are very worried," Masjed Soleiman's prefect, Sattar Akbarzadeh, told state television.

The official also warned that in Masjed Soleiman there was a major risk of potentially explosive leaks from the vast oil and gas field underneath the city.

He nevertheless called on residents to "remain calm", while revealing that overnight "people had been sleeping on the streets or in prepared areas even though there was heavy rain" and appealed for 20,000 tents.

"All administrative services in the province have been placed on maximum alert," Shapour Rostami, an official from the provincial natural disasters unit, also told state television.

"We have prepared three camps around the towns of Masjed Soleiman, Izeh and Baghmalek, and all schools have been closed," he said.

"All facilities in the three towns have been mobilised, and all facilities in the province are ready to be sent there if needed."

Masjed Soleiman was last hit by a major quake in September 2002, when an earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale caused five injuries.

The Bam quake has also prompted the Islamic republic's clerical leaders to consider proposals to shift the political capital out of quake-prone Tehran, which sits on several major seismic faultlines.

Hassan Rowhani, a top cleric, said the Supreme National Security Council which he heads would "seriously study the problem of moving the capital" in a meeting on Saturday.

During the 20th century, around 20 big quakes hit Iran, leaving more than 140,000 people dead. Since 1991 alone, and before the Bam disaster, nearly 1,000 earthquakes have claimed some 17,600 lives and injured 53,000 people, according to official figures.

in the province are ready to be sent there if needed."

http://sg.search.news.yahoo.com/search/news_sg_pf?p=ukey%3A5836875

"The Iranian Government Did Nothing"

January 07, 2004
This is Local London
Staff Reporter

Around 200 people gathered in Christ Church in Heriot Road, Hendon, for a candlelit vigil on Sunday to remember the 30,000 people killed by the earthquake in Bam, Iran, on Boxing Day.

The eerie silence in the church hall spoke volumes as the gathered mourners many of whom had lost relatives in the earthquake saw harrowing images of grief and destruction flit across a TV screen.

Among them was Khalil Nejad, who lost six members of his family in the early hours of December 26 when they were buried alive at their home, near the city of Bam.

"I lost my cousin, his wife and their four children," said Mr Nejad. "I was really shocked when my father told me the news. My cousin Shahabi was a good man, and I miss him.

"We hadn't seen each other in ten years but we often spoke to each other on the phone."

Mr Nejad, a carpenter who has lived in Stoke Newington for a decade, also has family in the nearby city of Kerman, all of whom escaped uninjured.

"My family went to help, to try and get my cousin from beneath the rubble, but all the roads were blocked off.

"The government feared there would be a protest or an uprising immediately afterwards so they closed the roads.

"There was an earthquake in San Francisco not long before which measured less on the richter scale."

He added: "Only two or three people died, where here many thousands did.

"How could the government let this happen?"

Farzaneh Hosseini, a 16-year-old from Mill Hill, said: "The Iranian government is more interested in terrorism and fulfilling their nuclear ambitions than spending money on preventative measures.

"Bam is an area known for being prone to earthquakes and they did nothing."

http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/headlines/display.var.446805.0.the_iranian_government_did_nothing.php

Diplomatic Iran renames street at Egypt's request

The Scotsman
PARISA HAFEZI IN TEHRAN
1.7.2004

THE simple renaming of a street in Tehran yesterday paved the way for Iran and Egypt, the Middle East’s two most populous nations, to re-establish diplomatic relations for the first time in 25 years.

Tehran city council yesterday agreed to rename the street commemorating Khaled Islambouli, the man who killed the former Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat.

The street’s name was changed to Intifada Street, after the Palestinian uprising, at the request of Iran’s foreign ministry. Cairo had demanded Iran rename the street before it would contemplate restoring ties.

A senior Iranian official said the two Muslim countries had agreed to patch up a relationship severed by Tehran shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution, due to Cairo’s 1978 Camp David peace deal with Israel and decision to play host to Iran’s exiled shah.

But Egypt said a final decision had yet to be taken. "The two countries have decided to restore ties and right now they are making the preparations," the Iranian vice-president, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, said.

In Cairo, the Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Maher, said: "When a decision is taken, it will be announced. There is no official announcement from anywhere."

An agreement between Tehran and Cairo would heal the last rift between Egypt and fellow Islamic states caused by the Camp David peace deal.

Iran, which still has no diplomatic ties with the United States and Israel, has recently made great efforts to improve relations with its Arab neighbours.

http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/international.cfm?id=18502004

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