Iranian Alert -- April 3, 2004 [EST]-- IRAN LIVE THREAD -- "Americans for Regime Change in Iran"

The Iranian Student Movement Up To The Minute Reports ^ | 4.3.2004 | DoctorZin

[DoctorZIn]

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.” 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. I began these daily threads June 10th 2003. On that date Iranians once again began taking to the streets to express their desire for a regime change. Today in Iran, most want to replace the regime with a secular democracy.

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.

DoctorZin

[DoctorZIn]

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[DoctorZIn]

Join Us At Today's Iranian Alert Thread – The Most Underreported Story Of The Year!

"If you want on or off this Iran ping list, Freepmail DoctorZin”

[DoctorZIn]

Fighting terror

Washington Times - By Diana West
Apr 2, 2004

It must have been last week's sound and fury that obscured the signifying-nothing part of Richard Clarke's September 11 commission testimony. The question was, former Sen. Slade Gorton wondered, could the September 11 attacks have been prevented if President Bush had implemented each of Mr. Clarke's recommendations immediately on taking office?

"No," replied Mr. Clarke.

No? So what really roils Mr. Clarke about the Bush administration? George Will puts it this way: "His belief that the Iraq War was a tragic blunder, arising from the president's monomania about Saddam and draining resources from the war on terror." Which maybe tells us to forget red states and blue states: The great divide now pits Americans who regard the Iraq War as a key front in the war on terror, and Americans who don't.

But it is the genius of the Bush doctrine that sees the truly big picture. The president believes American security relies not only on foiling attacks of al Qaeda jihadis -- which his administration has done with remarkable success for some 30 months, knock on wood -- but also on draining the terrorist swamp, as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld likes to say. That means a long-term offensive against both terrorists and the nations that support terrorism. That means a long-term goal of democratizing the Muslim Middle East. Iraq is Step One.

And a murderously difficult step it is, as the horrific killings and mutilation in Fallujah this week remind us. But imagine a war on terror that left Saddam Hussein unscathed, not to mention Uday and Qusay, even as the Ba'athist regime continued to flout the international community, shelter al Qaeda offshoots and renegades, run its torture chambers and rape rooms, fund jihad against Israel and generally menace the region. Without bothering to speculate what measures Ba'athist Iraq might have taken by now, consider the boons to world peace that would not have occurred without its defeat.

1) Rogue-state Libya would not have voluntarily surrendered its weapons of mass destruction program and applied for membership in the community of nations. In an interview last year with the British Spectator, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi told him, "I will do whatever the Americans want, because I saw what happened in Iraq and was afraid."

2) Pakistan's secret role in passing nuclear secrets to such rogue states as Libya, Iran and North Korea would not have been exposed. As editor at large of The Washington Times, Arnaud de Borchgrave, has reported, "Suddenly, Col. Qaddafi, suitably impressed by U.S. military capabilities in Iraq, had no compunction about leaking secrets that led to a Pakistani and Iranian connection."

3) Syria would not be showing signs of wanting to come in from the cold. "Syria has appealed to Australia to use its close ties with Washington to help the Arab nation shake off its reputation as a terrorist haven," reports The Australian newspaper. That, of course, will require a whole lot of shaking, but any such movement is noteworthy. "The overtures by Syria," the paper writes, "are seen as a response to the West's determination to confront rogue nations that may either pose a threat themselves or pass on weapons to terrorists."

4) And, of course, there would not be a shiny, new, hard-won interim constitution in Iraq that promises to allow democracy to take root.

Will freedom spread to Iraq's authoritarian neighbors? The recent collapse of an Arab summit on the subject has made me strangely hopeful. Organized as a response to the Bush administration's call for Middle Eastern reform, the summit was canceled by host-country Tunisia because unnamed countries failed to support calls for "tolerance,""understanding"or "democracy" in a summit statement. That there was no such consensus is unfortunate; that there was even such a debate is promising.

Meanwhile, Iran's bold students struggle on for freedom. Scholars in Alexandria have called for an elected legislature, an independent judiciary and a free press. Pro-reform demonstrators have marched through Damascus (before being arrested). A recent editorial titled "Arab Reform Now" in the Jerusalem Post summed up the situation this way: "Among the conclusions the Bush administration drew from September 11 was that the risks of inaction outweighed the risks of action: that advocating stability above freedom in Middle East was counterproductive, hypocritical, and unworthy of the United States; and that reforming the Arab world was a sine qua non for defeating terrorism ... The more forcefully the Bush administration [follows these conclusions], the more it will put repressive Arab regimes on the defensive, and the more courage it will give to the best elements in Arab society."

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_5558.shtml

[DoctorZIn]

EU Surpasses U.S. in Propaganda Against Iran: Ghafurifard

Tehran: 22:34 , 2004/04/02
TEHRAN, April 2 (Mehr News Agency)

Presidential advisor Hassan Ghafurifard said here Friday that European countries showed that they have overtaken the U.S. in creating a negative political atmosphere against Iran.

The EU big three said in a strongly worded statement on Wednesday that Iran's announcement that it would be starting up a uranium conversion plant near the central city of Isfahan would make it harder for the country to regain international confidence.

“The Europeans’ criticism is baseless, for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has approved of the starting up of the plant,” he said.

Ghafurifard told the Mehr News Agency that the Islamic Republic of Iran has extensively cooperated with the IAEA and the European countries in order to gain international confidence and remove ambiguities about its nuclear program.

Referring to the remarks of Hassan Rowhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), who had stated Iran would not restart its uranium enrichment activities until international concerns were allayed, the presidential advisor said that voicing concern over Iran’s nuclear research is merely meant to pressure the Islamic Republic and create a negative political atmosphere against Iran.

He went on to say that the international community should not pay attention to the negative propaganda against Iran because it has been transparent in its nuclear cooperation.

“We have to make a serious response to the European countries’ negative remarks and deprive them of the chance to spread baseless rumors against Iran,” he said.

Referring to the Tehran Declaration, Ghafurifard said that Iran’s refusal to cooperate with the U.S. does not mean it should totally trust the Europeans.

“Their unjust attitude toward Iran during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war and over the past 25 years showed that it was not logical to trust the European countries or to expect them to abide by the articles of the Tehran Declaration,” he said.

Tehran promised the Europeans last October it would suspend uranium enrichment and accept tougher inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog in exchange for peaceful nuclear technology.

Piruz Hosseini, the Iranian ambassador to the UN in Vienna, told Reuters in a telephone interview that the uranium conversion plant is a totally separate issue from Iran’s commitment to the suspension of uranium enrichment.

Ghafurifard said that the plant was meant for scientific and research purposes, adding that Iran had informed the IAEA two months earlier that it would be starting up the plant.

“The IAEA inspectors are currently examining all activities at this site,” he said.

“Science is the first right of man and no dictatorial system can thwart scientific progress; however, those who claim to advance human rights are brazenly attempting to limit Iran’s right in this regard,” Ghafurifard said.

http://www.mehrnews.com/wfNewsDetails_en.aspx?NewsID=67780&t=Political

[DoctorZIn]

IAEA finds more uranium in Iran

REUTERS[ SATURDAY, APRIL 03, 2004 04:20:41 AM ]

VIENNA : The UN atomic watchdog has found traces of bomb-grade uranium in Iran at sites other than the two already named, but diplomats said on Friday it was unclear if this boosted US claims that Tehran wants an atom bomb.

“They found highly-enriched uranium at more sites than Kalaye and Natanz,” a Western diplomat said. The diplomat did not specify how many sites, where they were or when the traces were found.

Last year, the IAEA reported finding traces of uranium that had been enriched to a point where it contained about 90 percent of the fissile uranium atom U-235 at the Natanz enrichment plant and a workshop at the Kalaye Electric Company.

Sources said the watchdog had discovered traces at other sites.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/597556.cms

[F14 Pilot]

Iran hikes price of petrol by 23 percent

Friday, April 02, 2004
©2004 IranMania News

TEHRAN, April 2 (AFP) - Iran has hiked the price of petrol by up to 23 percent in a bid to ease the burden of heavy subsidies and its need to import fuel due to its low refining capacity, state television reported Friday.

But pump prices remain among the lowest in the world, with a litre of standard fuel going up from 650 to 800 rials (eight cents to nearly 10 cents) and super up from 900 to 1,100 rials.

The price hikes are part of the country's annual budget, and take effect from midnight Saturday.

The government has predicted inflation will stands at 15.9 percent for the financial year that began on March 20, but analysts believe the rise in petrol prices risk pushing that figure higher due to the knock-on effect on commodities prices.

Tehran has decided to impose a series of taxes to increase the price of petrol in a bid to discourage the use of private vehicles, cut fuel consumption and ease pollution, particularly in the capital.

But the still modest prices are unlikely to dramatically decrease consumption in major cities, where the public transport system remains hopelessly inadequate.

According to official figures, 56 million liters of petrol are consumed per day in Iran. Last year, the country imported one billion dollars of petrol to meet domestic demand. That figure is expected to rise to 1.6 billion dollars this year.

Iranian cars are mostly old and consume on average 17 liters per 100 kilometers, three times more than the average vehicle on Europe's roads.

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=23635&NewsKind=Business%20%26%20Economy

[F14 Pilot]

Badminton National Team in Strike

By ISNA (translated by Niloufa M.)
Apr 3, 2004, 02:49

IranSportsPress - The players of the badminton national team in a response to mismanagement went on strike infront of the federation building on wednesday.

In this strike, 8 team players and some of federation councilors participated.
Badminton players had objections to sudden change of date for team the team selection games for the Asian Championship games in Malaysia, selection of team players and councilors out of personal choice, and badminton team's unclear future without any coach for 1 and half a year .

Games for team selection was supposed to take place today but the date was suddenly delayed to April 6th. Karbasia, manager in the badminton federation , in a comment indicated he did not know anything about the strike, and did not accept to answer team player's inquiries and demands.

Later today, badminton national team players in a letter to Mehralizade, Iran`s head of sport organization, asked for his full concern to solve their problems.

At the end of the letter, the players warned about their resignation from the national team if they face Federation's ignorance in response to their problems.

http://www.iransportspress.com/artman/publish/article_656.shtml

[nuconvert]

“We have to make a serious response to the European countries’ negative remarks and deprive them of the chance to spread baseless rumors against Iran,”

Ah....the old "baseless rumors" again. LoL

[nuconvert]

Hmm...let's see...3.79 litres to the gallon....>3,032 Rials/gal (up from 2,274 Rials/gallon). That's a big hike all of a sudden.

[F14 Pilot]

I agree and this raise might affect a country's economy which is so dependent on Oil and Gas.

[freedom44]

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=23674&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs

Tehran, April 3 (IranMania) – The recently resigned MP of Tehran, Fatema Haghighatjou who was to leave for Britain following the invitation of the Islamic Student Associations of the British universities was banned from leaving the country.

In an interview with Iran’s Student News Agency (ISNA), Haghighatjou confirmed the news saying: “The reformists prefer prison over leaving their homeland forever.”

Emphasizing that she had never intended to reside in another country, Haghighatjou reiterated: “Only those who have no place among the Iranian people will flee the country and not the reformists who are backed by the majority of the people.”

Seriously criticizing the verdict banning her from leaving the country, the former Iranian MP added: “The hardliners think that through their policy of intimidation, they can serve the nation while such moves only weaken their own foundations.

Such efforts should be stopped as soon as possible, for they tarnish Iran’s image at the world level.”

The reformist MP Fatemeh Haghighatjou from Tehran was the first to have her resignation accepted on February 23, followed by her colleague Mir Mahmoud Yaghaneli from the northwestern city of Urumiyeh on March 7.

Mass disqualifications of reformist candidates by the Guradians Council were followed by a landslide victory for conservatives on February 20, but the new parliament will not be sworn in until the end of May.

According to (AFP) Iran's conservative judiciary summoned outspoken reformist member of parliament to answer a barrage of charges recently brought against them on October 15, 2002.

Haghighatjou was accused of "spreading lies, insulting Islamic Republic officials and anti-regime propaganda", IRNA reported without giving further details.

Earlier Haghighatjou had called on MPs to hold a national referendum if a conservative constitutional watchdog, the Guardians Council, blocks proposed laws to end the hardliners' stranglehold on power.

A national referendum would "show their determination to the people in defending the nation's lawful rights", which had been "largely violated", she said.

Haghighatjou was sentenced to 18 months in jail in March, 2002, after protesting in a speech in parliament to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over the arrest of a young journalist.

[freedom44]

Left behind
Jafar Panahi's new film raises fear and guilt

April 2, 2004
iranian.com

It is Wednesday night and I am sitting in front of my therapist, in Northern California. She tells me: "I think the key to getting to the root cause of your problems is to know about your past, especially your life in Iran. Tell me... how was it?"

"I don't know, I am not sure what should I tell you? It was what it was, a life."

Fast forward to the Friday night we are in a movie theater watching Jafar Panahi's "Crimson Gold", an Iranian tale of life. The story of Hossein, a pizza delivery man, who is a veteran still suffering from the wounds of war, living in the oppressed land I used to call home and will never let go of me.

The movie follows Hossein in his daily life, numb from medication, unable to react well to the world, but is as human as anybody else can be. He is in love and has a fiancé, for whom he buys a white purse because her brother told him she likes "a bride's purse". He wants to buy her jewlery but is humiliated by an arrogant jewelry store owner who treats him as a low-life who should be shopping in the downtown bazaar, not uptown Tehran.

One evening when Hossein goes to deliver pizza to a home in a well to do area of Tehran, he is caught by surprise; the the vice squad is outside arresting those leaving a loud party on the second floor. There standing is a 15-years old solider staring at the window where he can see the shadow of people dancing. "I will stop them with my gun, if they try to run away," he says.

Hossein isn't allowed to deliver the pizzas; the vice commander thinks the party goers might find out about the trap outside. "At least they are having fun up there, what about me and you?" Hossein says to the boy soldier. Then in true Iranian fashion he takes out the pies from the delivery box and offers "pizzas from the sky" to the squad, and the worried families outside.

I wish my therapist was there watching the movie with me. I was one of those young girls coming out of a simple party. I was held captive by the same poor soldiers waiting for us outside until early hours of the morning, hungry, and thirsty.

By chance, Hossein spends his last night in a luxury penthouse owned by the rich parents of a disoriented young man visiting from the U.S. He takes a swim in a fancy indoor pool and getting drunk and burping over a magnificent view of Tehran.

Meanwhile in a nice spring afternoon in Northern California's wealthiest city, this Iranian girl with a job in corporate America goes to spare some dollars in support of an Iranian movie. She went through the same humiliation for having some innocent fun at a party. She finally found a way out -- maybe because she was born into privilege -- but left those soldiers and Hossein back in Iran stuck in the tangle of life.

In the next session she may tell her therapist what it was like to live in Iran: "Contradiction, paradox, and confusion." She will tell her: "I had all the fun, and Hossein and a poor 15-year-old country boy were stuck down there forever."

She may even ask her to help her get rid of her guilty conscience.

http://www.iranian.com/Ghassemi/2004/April/Film/

[DoctorZIn]

Home-made Bomb Shatters Windows in Zahedan

April 03, 2004
AFP
IranMania

TEHRAN -- A home-made bomb blew up Friday night in a central square of the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan, shattering windows but causing no casualties, state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday.

"A home-made explosive device, which only made terrible sound, blew up at around 8:00 pm (1630 GMT) in Azadi Square ... resulting in the shattering of windows of nearby buildings," Zahedan Governor Haidar-Ali Nouraie was quoted as saying

"Fortunately it left no casualties," he added, saying police and other security forces were investigating the incident.

Zahedan lies close to the borders of both Afghanistan and Pakistan and has a large community of Afghan refugees. It is in Sistan-Baluchistan province, which is notorious for drug trafficking from Afghanistan.

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=23662&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs

[DoctorZIn]

Iraqi Interior Minister Starts Four-day Visit to Tehran

April 03, 2004
Kuwait News Agency
KUNA

TEHRAN -- Iraqi Minister of Interior Nuri Al-Badran þSaturday starts a four-day visit to Tehran during which he is to discuss þbilateral relations and security cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad with þIranian officials.þ
þ
A statement by the Iranian Interior Ministry's Media Department today said þAl-Badran, heading an official political and security delegation, would meet þcounterpart Abdol Wahed Musawi Lari. The two are to discuss security issues of þþmutual interest, including the situation along the borders and transit of þIranian pilgrims heading to Shiite sacred sites in Iraq.þ
þ
Over 50 Iranian visitors died in the bombings during Karbala's Ashoura þceremonies last March. Coalition authorities and Iraqi officials subsequently þlimited the number of Iranians allowed to enter Iraq.

Al-Badran had visited Iran last month among the IGC delegation which was þheaded by Mohammad Bahr Al Oloum. The delegation had then discussed control of þthe common borders and regulating the entry of Iranian pilgrims.

http://www.kuna.net.kw/English/Story.asp?DSNO=618082

[DoctorZIn]

More trained "pilgrims" to enter Iraq

SMCCDI (Information Service)
Apr 2, 2004

More alleged "Pilgrims" are set to be send to Iraq supposedly in order to commemorate the Shia ritual of Arba-in.

In reality these so-called Pilgrims are Iranian Intelligence officers and Arab mercenaries trained, by the Islamic republic regime, with the task of creating more complication for America in its War Against Terror and to avoid the stabilization of Iraq.

Benefiting of the Tehran based Arab speaking "Al-Alam" Satellite TV Network, the regime is intending to create more and more turmoil in Iraq as the US Presidential Election is approaching. Several members of its National Security Council and Intelligence believe that more shocking images will hit American's minds and will push them toward voting for the US Democratic Candidate. They strongly believe that John Kerry, as he has stated, will open negotiations with them and will reward them with parts of their requests if elected as the next US President.

Mr. Kerry who's benefiting of some very friendly US based Iranian lobbyists' advices has qualified the tyrannical and terrorist Islamic republic as a "Democratic frame" and promised to "Repair damages done by the Bush administration".

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_5565.shtml

[DoctorZIn]

Unrest in Esfahan

SMCCDI (Information Service)
Apr 3, 2004

Windows of several banks and public buildings were smashed in Esfahan during a protest demo which took place, today, in the Jey Avenue.

Hundreds of residents defied the security forces and set tires ablaze in order to show their anger of the local Islamic funds' empty promises on the restitution of millions of Tomans (Iranian currency) of their deposited assets.

The rumor of the bankruptcy of the local Islamic funds has resulted on massive withdraws and is leading toward its collapse.

The situation is very tense and protesters have promised to come back for their money and to take it back at any cost.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_5562.shtml

[DoctorZIn]

More trained "pilgrims" to enter Iraq
SMCCDI (Information Service)
Apr 2, 2004

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1110511/posts?page=16#16

Unrest in Esfahan

SMCCDI (Information Service)
Apr 3, 2004
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1110511/posts?page=17#17

[M Kehoe]

Bttt.

5.56mm

[nuconvert]

"the regime is intending to create more and more turmoil in Iraq as the US Presidential Election is approaching. Several members of its National Security Council and Intelligence believe that more shocking images will hit American's minds and will push them toward voting for the US Democratic Candidate"

If this is what they think, they've got a surprise coming.
It will stregthen our resolve to fight terrorism.
"America will never be intimidated by thugs and assassins."