Iranian Alert -- January 22, 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.

I am following this report and if I'm not mistaken the Defector IR Inteligence agent who appeared as witness is using a cover name of Hamid-Reza Zakeri. He is also the guy who appeared appeared at Jane Kokan's program on PBS (Forbidden Iran). The person in the film (H.Zakeri) meets Ms. Kiokan in a safe house belonging to a western Intelligence agency in the red light area of Amsterdam. Please note Kokan's not of this meeting:-
"It was even more surreal! I found this ex-Iranian intelligence officer who wanted to go on the record and spill the beans. This guy, Hamid Zakeri, who looks like an Iranian version of Don Johnson, he's got these dark shades on, immaculately blow dried hair, trench coat and expensive Italian shoes. I'm told to meet him at a "safe house," as Zakeri wants to make sure we won't be followed, so my production company sets it up for me to go meet him at this brothel in the red-light district. We had our choice of rooms, the Lollipop room or the Rembrandt room, and we selected the latter. This girl in a rubber miniskirt with matching bra meets us at the door. I'm with a female colleague who is carrying an oversized tripod, and I'm carrying the camera -- she probably thought we were in town to make a pornographic film. It was a far cry from Tehran."

Mr Zakeri also runs a web site (all in Farsi!) www.persian.se
Most interesting is that he has started to have a banner saying "only 5 months to IR downfall". He has started this a few months ago and he is counting monthly. I guess according to him we are looking at July 2004!! ...waited 25 years, what's another 5 months for these thugs to go to hell!
I must admit whoever is behind this web site has very accurate knowledge of the events and personalities. He talks the same stuff as majority of Iranians regarding, EU support of the Mullahs, Iraq situation, Internal Iranian events etc. I always look at it and compare with the other sources Persian web sites and Western sources! I just hope he is not another IR agent planted to divert opinions and direction of the Freedom movement!!

The IR has been so devious in the past with people like Khatami who was given such tiles as "Iran's Gorbachev" one can not trust anyone from this regime. For one thing I know another IR Inteligence agent who has defected and now works with Mr Reza Pahlavi (Mr Beikzadeh)but he is now a trusted Anti-IR person. However, who can tell whether all these efforts are so that he can peneterate Mr Pahlavi's circle and then to do some damage and become a double agent!! ...I simply can't trust anyone who has worked with IR security apparatus until they are properly vetted! I agree with you though that since he says everything against the Mullah Regime then he should be supported!
I know that Iranians will not be fooled again, that's why no one cares about the sit-ins at the IR parliment. The IR MPs are not and have not represented Iranian people so now, No One cares about them (today is the 12th day of their protest!)

Witness Links Iran to Al Qaeda Pre 9/11, Court Told

January 22, 2004
Reuters
Jan Schwartz

HAMBURG, Germany -- Iran's secret service had contacts with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network ahead of the September 11 attacks on the United States, a German court heard on Thursday.

Two members of Germany's Federal Criminal Police told a court in Hamburg a former Iranian spy had informed them of the contacts and had also said he tried to warn Washington about the attacks in mid-2001, but that the CIA had not believed him.

The police officers were speaking at the trial of a Moroccan accused of aiding the September 11 attacks.

The Iranian, identified only by his cover name Hamid Reza Zakeri emerged as a surprise witness, postponing the verdict which had been expected to clear the defendant. His credibility is under scrutiny by the presiding judges.

The witness himself was not in court on Thursday, but presiding judge Klaus Ruehle read out passages from an interview with him and questioned the two German investigators who had listened to his testimony.

The Iranian said he had been in a department of the Iranian intelligence service that was "responsible for carrying out terrorist attacks globally," one of the officers said.

"In 2001, a delegation with Osama bin Laden's son was in Iran," the officer said, quoting the witness.

The witness has been summoned to appear on January 29 at the trial of Moroccan Abdelghani Mzoudi, accused of aiding the September 11 attackers.

Mzoudi, 31, was expected to be cleared of several thousand counts of aiding and abetting murder and membership of a terror organization in a verdict originally due on Thursday, but postponed after the emergence of the Iranian witness.

The sudden new evidence may threaten Mzoudi's chances of acquittal.

MYSTERY WITNESS

The police officers told the court the witness had implicated Mzoudi and had said the Iranian secret service had worked with al Qaeda in 1996 in an attack in Saudi Arabia that killed several U.S. citizens.

He had also said it was an Iranian, Saif al Adel, the military head of al Qaeda, who planned the September 11 attacks.

Prosecutors say Mzoudi, an electrical engineering student based in Hamburg where three of the suicide pilots had lived, handled money for al Qaeda, helped cover for group members' absence and trained at an al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan himself.

However, he was released from custody after German investigators informed the court of secret testimony which the trial judge presumed to have come from key al Qaeda figure and U.S. captive Ramzi bin al-Shaibah.

That testimony suggested Mzoudi did not belong to the core group of plotters based in Hamburg.

Prosecutors, who are calling for a 15 year jail term, did not say how they had found their new witness only three days before the verdict was due.

German investigators, asked by judges to assess the credibility of the witness, said he had been keen to be paid for his cooperation, although he had not openly demanded money.

Ruehle said he and the other four presiding judges would continue to assess the credibility of the new witness on the trial's next scheduled sitting next Thursday.

He had told them he had left Iran in mid-2001 and warned the U.S. embassy in Azerbaijan of the impending attacks, informing officials that he had been employed by the CIA since 1992.

The new witness also referred to what he said was an al Qaeda message urging that Mzoudi "be eliminated" lest he implicate other al Qaeda members.

On the same day, fellow Moroccan Mounir El Motassadeq is also expected to hear whether an appeal against his conviction last February on similar charges has been successful. Motassadeq was sentenced to 15 years, but could win a retrial.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4189392

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