ZARQAWI IS ALONG IRAQ-IRAN BORDER
Middle East Newsline
August 3rd, 04
BAGHDAD [MENL] -- Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi, regarding as the leading foreign insurgent in Iraq, was believed to be shuttling between Iran and Iraq.
Western intelligence sources said the United States has quietly determined that Al Zarqawi has not been in Iraq for more than a month. The sources said Al Zarqawi left the Sunni Triangle for the Iran-Iraq border and has been moving in an arc from Iran in the east to Syria in the west as he continued to relay orders, plan operations and relay funding.
"Much of the time he is in Iran, where he has been given safe haven," an intelligence source said. "The United States won't cross the Iranian border to get him."
The sources said Al Zarqawi was last seen in the Iraqi town of Dour in the area of Baghdad on June 18, where he held a meeting with a senior aide to deposed President Saddam Hussein, Izzat Ibrahim Douri. Douri, regarded as a major financier of the Sunni insurgency, was said to have provided the Al Qaida-aligned insurgent with a large amount of weapons and equipment. From Al Dour, Al Zarqawi traveled to Iran and was said to have been in Marivan in northern Iran through late July.
http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2004/august/08_03_1.html
Florida couple may be forced to return to Iran
Dara Kam
Tuesday, August 3, 2004
TALLAHASSEE -- A casual walk across Niagara Falls has turned into a bureaucratic nightmare for a Florida couple, who are now stranded in Canada and facing the possibility of being forced to return to their native Iran.
Mahmoud Ranjbari and his wife, Fariba Ghazvini, were denied reentry by U.S. immigration officials a week ago after they followed a throng of tourists across a bridge over Niagara Falls and stepped into Canada to take a picture and have ice cream.
Wearing sandals and shorts, Ranjbari and Ghazvini were questioned by customs and border patrol officers for six hours last Tuesday before their passports were stamped "Re-entry Denied," Ranjbari said Monday from Toronto.
"I do not know what will happen," he said.
Asked whether he thinks his nationality contributed to his situation, Ranjbari said, "It's a problem for the Iranian people because of our government, but my case is a very simple case because I just made a mistake."
A survey engineer, Ranjbari gained admission to the United States in 2002 on a work visa, which allows Iranians to enter the country only once and is valid for just three months.
Ranjbari applied for a new visa in Toronto last week, but was told it may take up to six months before security checks were completed and a decision made on whether to allow the couple, whose college-age children remain in Tallahassee, to return to the U.S.
That places the couple, who own a home in Tallahassee, in jeopardy. Because they do not have Canadian visas, officials there have given them until Aug. 15 to resolve their visa conflict or they will be forced back to Iran. And because Iran has no diplomatic relations with the U.S., they will have to go to Turkey to seek permission to return to Florida.
The Ranjbaris' situation is not unique and stems from confusion about what a visa is and how it works, said Bill Strassberger, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security. A visa is like "a ticket to the movie theater," he said.
"As long as the person doesn't leave the U.S., they're in good shape," Strassberger said. "Unfortunately for that individual, if they're out of the U.S., it does become problematic getting back in."
The couple's situation coincides with heightened terror warnings in New York, New Jersey and Washington and concern from the ACLU and others over terrorist watch lists that they say violate civil-rights laws.
In addition, the couple's homeland, Iran, is identified by the U.S. as a "terrorist-sponsoring" nation, along with countries such as Cuba and North Korea. Iran is considered to have close links with Al-Qaeda, according to Department of State documents.
Their Iranian nationality could increase the level of scrutiny of the security checks for the new visas, Strassberger said.
Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said, "This is the war on terrorism out of control.
"If the government has lost its ability to distinguish between who's a terrorist and who may have made a mistake by walking over the Falls to get a better picture, then the government has lost all perspective on the war on terrorism," Simon said.
Ranjbari said Canadian border officials did not ask to see his passport and did not warn the couple that they may have trouble getting back into the U.S. without the proper papers.
"I warn any of my clients that if you travel out of the United States, you may not come back," said Edward Weisz, a Beverly Hills immigration attorney representing the Ranjbaris.
The couple's children, Saman and Sonia Ranjbari, sought assistance Friday from U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, whose office confirmed that he is working with the Department of State to help reunite the family. Saman, 19, Sonia, 21, and their mother attend Tallahassee Community College.
"Iran is still a dictatorship," Weisz said. "I always am fearful for all my clients when they go back. Over the years, when someone went back, they went right to prison."
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/auto/epaper/editions/today/news_14f0a02033a3419d00af.html