Iranian Alert -- June 1, 2004 [EST]-- 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.” 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.

Iranian Mps Warn of NPT Pullout

June 01, 2004
Agence France Presse
afp.com

TEHRAN -- Iran's new conservative-controlled parliament will consider pulling the Islamic republic out of a key nuclear arms control treaty if the UN's atomic energy watchdog is deemed to be too pro-American, two deputies warned Tueday.

"If the IAEA again acts in the way that the Americans want and if the big powers use the Non-Proliferation Treaty to pressure Iran, parliament will examine leaving the NPT," MPs Ali Abaspour and Hossein Nejabat told the hardline Jomhuri Islami newspaper.

The warning comes ahead of a June 14 meeting of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), where the body's executive -- the Board of Governors -- are due to review the progress of inspections of Iran's suspect bid to generate nuclear power.

Abaspour said the outcome of the meeting would "serve as a basis" for a decision in parliament on how Iran should handle its future relations with the IAEA, including whether it ratifies an additional protocol to the NPT that allows tougher inspections.

"If the IAEA acts in an independent manner, parliament will insist on continued cooperation," said the MP, one of a majority of conservative deputies who seized control of the Majlis after most reformist candidates were barred form standing in February's parliamentary polls.

"But if we see that the IAEA is simply a tool of the United States and is only looking for pretexts to use against Iran, we will put on parliament's agenda a move to leave these treaties," he warned.

The United States argues Iran is secretly trying to build the bomb, but Iran insists its programme is purely peaceful -- even though it emerged late last year the country had for years been covering up sophisticated activities.

In the run-up to the June meeting, Iranian officials have been warning the IAEA not to be too harsh, or else risk pushing the Islamic republic's clerical leaders to cut off cooperation altogether.

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said last week that Iran's cooperation with the agency had been insufficient, but added that he had not drawn any conclusions over the nature of the country's nuclear programme.

If Iran comes under renewed criticism on June 14 and more doubts emerge over its cooperation, the IAEA's board could refer the matter to the UN Security Council, which in turn could decide to impose sanctions.

http://www.afp.com/home/

What Can I Do?
It’s the West’s soft power we need.

National Review Online
June 01, 2004, 8:30 a.m.

Reacting to my article, "Feeling the Heat," a young congressional staff member on the Hill wrote to me asking the simple question: "What can I do to help Iran?"

"I firmly believe that my generation can unite to form a global coalition for government transparency and open markets to produce a culture of tolerance and freedom," wrote Reggie (I've changed names in this piece), before adding: "A young, grassroots movement not in line with the traditional model of adolescent rejection of politics and economics, but a globalized yearning...for freedom and equality. A generation so young and so powerful in Iran can produce a new order; shift the tides of repression across the world and in the Middle East." And once again she asked the simple question that, if it finds resonance and answer, could change history: "Simply put, what can I do to help the youth of Iran?"

On the eve of Memorial Day, in a separate e-mail from his midwestern campus, another young American asked me the same question. "About your proposal for a broad-based...democracy movement that would demand freedoms for all peoples.... I'd like to get going on this project as soon as possible," said Charlie. "However, I am not sure exactly where to start."

In my article, I related the story of Tannaz, an Iranian student, and asked the question the West is facing: Between Jannati, Secretary of the Guardian Council of the Iranian theocracy, and Tannaz, which one will you choose? A few years ago in Serbia, between Milosevic on one hand and the Serbian students and Zoran Djindjic on the other, a united West chose the students and their leaders. Today, the entire Balkan region has been stabilized and democratic nations are being built. Tomorrow, in Iran, which way will the West go? Will we all harvest the seeds of democracy or the grapes of wrath and resentment of a disillusioned youth? That is the question.

For Reggie, Charlie, and Tannaz to celebrate Democracy Day in a freedom parade in Tehran, we do not need bullets. Rather, to witness the Iranian D-Day we need the West's immense information-projection power. We need the West's vastly influential think tanks to advocate a policy of freedom for the people, not détente with a regime whose Majlis (Parliament) inaugurates with chants of "Death to America" and whose Friday "prayers" serve as recruiting speeches for suicide bombers.

We need congressional hearings and testimonies given by young Iranians describing the hopelessness of existence under theocracy; the complete lack of normalcy and dignity; the day-by-day attrition of life. We need a tiny fraction of the West's financial support channeled to the families of Iranian political prisoners and jailed journalists with international monitoring. We need your soft power, and all of it. We need it in a barrage of heavy-media artillery, think-tank platforms, and the solidarity of Western NGOs. We need U.S. and EU campus events with young Iranians "yearning for freedom" standing hand in hand with Western students. We need Western artists lending their music and their voices to the Joyless Generation.

In 1979, Time magazine named Khomeini Man of the Year, in effect promoting his thoughts and his generation. That gloomy cover page was followed by the darkness of 25 years of yet-to-be-fully-unfolded "content." Ahmad Batebi, a student leader thrown in jail for holding a bloodied T-shirt in front of reporters, is our Man of the Decade. We are yearning for something better, and we need Ahmad on your cover page.

We are the generation of Reggie and Charlie, Tannaz and Ahmad. We need you!

— Ramin Parham, editor of iraninstitutefordemocracy.org, is an independent commentator based in Paris.

http://nationalreview.com/voices/parham200406010830.asp

Quattrocchi’s Killers
We are dealing with a truly international terror network.

National Review Online
June 01, 2004, 8:27 a.m.

You will, I hope, recall the heroic death of Fabrizio Quattrocchi on April 14 at the hands of jihadists in Iraq. At the time, the Italian foreign minister revealed that Quattrocchi, clawing at the hood they had placed over his head, cried out, "I will show you how an Italian dies!" Now, thanks to a truly great Italian reporter (and assistant editor of the Corriere della Sera) named Magdi Allam, we know a bit more about the event.

As Quattrocchi tried to remove the hood, he asked, "May I?" At that point, one of his captors replied — in colloquial and unaccented Italian — "in your dreams" ("neanche per sogno"). Italian analysts believe that Italian was the terrorist's mother tongue.

This is not the only example of native Italian speakers among terrorists. The three remaining Italian hostages were shown on a video broadcast on April 26, and one of them — Salvatore Stefio — spoke warmly of his captors: "So far we haven't had any trouble with them. We eat regularly and we haven't been physically maltreated in any way. All our requests to improve our stay here with them have been agreed to." This sort of statement was likely dictated by the terrorists, and at least one of them must have been relatively fluent in Italian in order to permit the statement to be taped and broadcast.

I think we can take it for granted that the terror network now contains representatives of every country in the Islamic network's gunsights, along with the cannon fodder they recruit from their own homelands. Surely they managed to recruit some Spaniards to advise them on the best way to influence the outcome of the national elections on March 11. And notice that in the recent attacks in Saudi Arabia, the terrorists told potential victims that they would be spared so long as they were Muslim, even if they were Americans. You can be sure there are plenty of Americans in the terrorists' ranks who know how to ask the life-and-death questions of us.

So, as Allam says, we are dealing with a truly international terror organization, and he reinforces the conclusion by comparing the very similar language used to attack Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi by Islamic terrorists in several different countries. In addition to the common denunciations of Berlusconi, these statements all demonstrate considerable knowledge of Italian politics — far more than is found in the Arab or Iranian press.

"The globalization of terrorism is an undoubted success for bin Laden. It is sufficiently serious and frightening to induce (Saudi) Prince Abdullah — according to credible secret sources — to negotiate with bin Laden a secret agreement to prevent the fall of the monarchy, based on their common hated of America and Israel." According to Allam, that agreement explains Abdullah's statement, following the May 1 terror attack, blaming "Zionism" for terrorism in Saudi Arabia. Other sources tell Allam the same thing I have heard, namely that the Saudi royal family has prepared a detailed plan to run abroad if the situation gets much worse, and that knowledge of the royal family's intentions is a major component in the recent rise in the price of oil. Meanwhile, the Saudis are buying insurance by supporting the terrorists in Iraq.

All of this should make us redouble our efforts in the war against terrorism, and remind us that we are not fighting a single war in a single country. The entire Middle East is a boiling cauldron right now, and with it the rest of the world. It is rare indeed to witness, first hand, the planet's destiny swinging on a single hinge, which is this generation's privilege and dread. Yet our leaders and their political opponents are obsessed with a single prison in Baghdad and a single Iraqi leader not to their liking.

It must be possible for someone in our political class to remind the nation that we are in a broad war, and we can only win it by using the full panoply of military and political weapons in our arsenal. Take the political battle to Iran and Syria, where the people have demonstrated a willingness to challenge the murderous regimes, and where al Qaeda and its allies in Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and the others have found safe haven and operational support.

And I hope someone in the Pentagon has a contingency plan to secure the oil fields in the event that the CIA can't manage the Saudi situation, and the brave Abdullah and his children, brothers, sisters, cousins, and nephews race to the French Riviera.

Faster, please. This is a time for war, not speechifying.

— Michael Ledeen, an NRO contributing editor, is most recently the author of The War Against the Terror Masters. Ledeen is Resident Scholar in the Freedom Chair at the American Enterprise Institute.

http://nationalreview.com/ledeen/ledeen200406010827.asp

Iranians Face Crackdown on 'Immoral' Behavior

Tue Jun 1, 2004
Reuters

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's feared morals police have launched a crackdown on "social corruption" such as women flouting Islamic dress codes, newspapers reported Tuesday, in what analysts said may reflect a changing political climate.

"A serious fight has started to tackle the spread of social corruption in society, especially the improper dress code," Tehran's Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi was quoted by Seda-ye Edalat newspaper as saying.

Enforcement of strict moral codes governing women's dress, Western music and mingling of the sexes has become more lax since President Mohammad Khatami's election in 1997 on a platform of social and political reform.

Emboldened young women have steadily tested the barriers of permissible attire, wearing gradually more colorful, tighter and more revealing coats and scarves and more obvious make-up.

Many young couples in the capital even dare to hold hands in public, in defiance of Islamic rules which prohibit physical contact between unrelated members of the opposite sex.

Religious hard-liners accuse Khatami of encouraging what they deem "immoral behavior" by Iran's youth.

Islamic conservatives who swept aside reformists in a February parliamentary vote Khatami's allies called a "sham," have said they do not intend to roll back social freedoms.

But analysts said the conservatives must play a delicate balancing act between upsetting their loyal supporters and provoking unrest by taking a tough line on social offences.

"This (crackdown) is a display of their power," said one political analyst who declined to be named. "The conservatives have to satisfy the people who elected them."

Tehran residents have noted an upsurge in arrests for "immoral behavior" in recent weeks.

Islamic volunteers and morals police have stepped up raids on illegal house parties where young people meet to drink alcohol and dance to Western music -- both illegal since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

And along Tehran's Jordan Avenue -- a popular place for young Iranians to cruise in their cars at night -- plain-clothes security men have been stopping cars and arresting occupants for a variety of offences.

"My car was confiscated for three months because they found illegal music cassettes and my girlfriend was in the car," said Arshia, a 32-year-old architect.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=5310481

Bush Urges World to Pursue Push to Stop WMD Trafficking

June 01, 2004
The Associated Press
George Jahn

KRAKOW, Poland -- President Bush on Tuesday hailed the success of a year-old international effort to disrupt the spread of weapons of mass destruction, urging more than 60 nations backing the initiative to remain vigilant.

"We are determined to keep the world's most dangerous weapons out of the world's most dangerous hands," Bush said in a videotaped message to a conference marking the anniversary of his Proliferation Security Initiative.

Launched during a visit to Krakow last year, Bush's program calls on countries to work together to intercept components of weapons of mass destruction on planes, ships and on land.

Bush attributed Libya's decision to renounce its nuclear and chemical weapons programs in December largely to the initiative.

International intelligence sharing and other cooperation under the program led to the interception of a freighter bound for Tripoli laden with components to enrich uranium, he said.

Bush also cited international cooperation in breaking up the illicit nuclear trafficking led by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani scientist implicated in selling his country's nuclear secrets to Libya, North Korea, Iran and possibly other countries.

The initiative led to "the unraveling of A. Q. Khan's nuclear network," which showed its "potential to end a program that threatens us all," Bush said.

In separate videotaped comments to the 62-nation meeting, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski said the threats of proliferation went beyond nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs being secretly developed by rogue nations.

"The dangers will become even greater if weapons of mass destruction fell into the hands of terrorists," he warned.

Addressing the conference, U.S. Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton urged nations worldwide to scrutinize shipments to and from North Korea, Iran and Syria - nations he described as "serious proliferation threats."

He said he expected the cooperation among PSI partners to evolve to the point where "we will have shut down the ability of persons, companies or other entities to engage in this deadly trade ... and we will have made it increasingly difficult and costly for rogue nations and terrorists to engage in their deadly work."

http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=67842

Iran Says it's Building Stealth Missile

June 01, 2004
The Associated Press
The New York Times

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran is producing its first stealth missile, a rocket that can evade electronic detection, the Iranian Defense Ministry said Tuesday while withholding its range.

The missile, named Kowsar after a river in Muslim descriptions of paradise, will be capable of hitting ships and aircraft, Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Reza Imani told The Associated Press.

He refused to give the missile's range or provide other details. Features of the Kowsar, such as its guidance and positioning systems, are currently on show at an exhibition in Tehran that is open only to select government officials.

Iranian state television announced the Kowsar Tuesday while screening pictures of a missile flying through the air.

Iran manufactures various missiles, chief among them the Shahab-3 whose range of 810-miles makes it capable of reaching Israel.

Iran also produces tanks, armored personnel carriers, and a fighter plane.

The Kowsar river is mentioned in the Quran, Islam's holy book.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iran-Missile.html

IAEA to Take Iran To Security Council if Military Link Proved

June 01, 2004
AFP
Arab Times

BRATISLAVA -- The UN atomic energy agency chief said Tuesday the jury was still out on Iran's nuclear program but that he would not hesitate to recommend taking Tehran to the UN Security Council if a military link were found.

"We will not hesitate to report to the (agency's) board, which will report in its turn to the Security Council, if we see any connection with a military program," Mohamed ElBaradei told a Nato meeting in the Slovak capital Bratislava. But he said "the jury is still out on Iran," before returning to Vienna where his International Atomic Energy Agency was readying to issue a report on Iran's nuclear program ahead of a meeting of the IAEA's 35-nation board of governors on June 14.

The United States claims Iran is hiding a program to build the bomb and has called for the IAEA, which has been investigating the Iranian program since February 2003, to refer the Islamic Republic to the UN Security Council for possible international sanctions. But ElBaradei said: "There is no evidence that the Iranian program has some military dimension." He was speaking at the end of a five-day meeting of Nato's Parliamentary Assembly, which gathered 300 members of parliament from 39 countries - 26 members of the recently expanded Nato and 13 associate members.

The assembly, which is a consultative body, discussed issues including the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US-led "war on terror", nuclear proliferation and weapons of mass destruction. ElBaradei repeated here his call for re-thinking the non-proliferation regime currently mandated by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that went into effect in 1970. "In regard of nuclear proliferation, it is time to reshuffle a security system that encourages the arms' race and to think, out of the box, about a new one that would not rely on nuclear deterence."

The NPT allows the five original nuclear powers - the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia - to keep their atom bombs and says that non-nuclear-weapon states should stay free of atomic arms. "A system that encompasses the 'haves' and the 'have nots' is not viable in the long run," ElBaradei said, calling for a new "global security system." The parliamentary assembly's president Doug Bereuter called at a press conference closing the meeting for Nato to hold its next summit on enlargement in 2007, at the latest.

"Our first task must be to support the efforts of the remaining candidate countries - Albania, Croatia and Macedonia - as they strive for Nato membership," Bereuter said. The Bratislava event came two months after Slovakia and six other former Soviet-bloc countries joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on March 29. Slovakia also was among 10 mainly eastern European countries that also joined the European Union on May 1.

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/world/Viewdet.asp?ID=2643&cat=a

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