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
Posted on 08/18/2004 9:25:11 PM PDT by DoctorZIn
The US media still largely 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
"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 hope you're right.
I realize this is a long term goal, but I hear nothing of Iran today. what is the news good doctor?
when Iraq stabilzes..and Afghanistan we will have news.
I see that Khatami is bowing up, he is playing his hand
Iran Warns Of Preemptive Strike
August 19, 2004
Agence France-Presse
The Age
Doha, Qatar -- Iranian Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani warned today that Iran might launch a preemptive strike to prevent an attack on its nuclear facilities, in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV.
"We will not sit (with arms folded) to wait for what others will do to us. Some military commanders in Iran are convinced that preventive operations which the Americans talk about are not their monopoly," Mr Shamkhani said when asked about the possibility of a US or Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.
"America is not the only one present in the region. We are also present, from Khost to Kandahar in Afghanistan; we are present in the Gulf and we can be present in Iraq," said Mr Shamkhani, speaking in Farsi to the Arabic-language news channel through an interpreter.
"The US military presence (in Iraq) will not become an element of strength (for Washington) at our expense. The opposite is true, because their forces would turn into a hostage" in Iranian hands in the event of an attack, he said.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/08/19/1092765053599.html?oneclick=true
Iranian Parliament Proposes National Costume
August 18, 2004
AFP
Yahoo News
TEHRAN -- Iran's conservative parliament is preparing designs for national Islamic costumes to combat the corrupting influence of Western fashion, a prominent MP said.
"We have to design new trends within the framework of an Islamic dress code. Both men and women need a national costume," Emad Afroogh, head of the parliamentary cultural commission, told student news agency ISNA.
He added that a national fashion reform bill had been put before the parliament's research centre for approval.
The move comes after the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the nation in July about a "cultural invasion" and the dangers of imitating foreigners, asserting that Iranians needed to design their own styles.
In recent weeks state television has dedicated part of its main news programme to the question of "What is fashion?" -- a series of interviews with residents, clerics and "experts" aimed at defining what can and cannot be worn.
The Tehran chief of police warned women a few days ago not to dress like "models", while a general clampdown over the last few months has seen police rounding up hundreds of young women sporting flimsy headscarves, three-quarter-length trousers and shape-revealing coats.
On Tuesday parliament rejected the gender equality bill put forward by its reformist predecessors.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/afp/20040818/wl_mideast_afp/iran_parliament_fashion
Iran Delivered Missiles to Hizbullah in Lebanon via Syria
August 19, 2004
Middle East Media Research Institute
MEMRI
The Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa recently reported that Iran has delivered missiles to Hizbullah in Lebanon via Syria, and that Iran and Syria are cooperating closely in missile development and deployment. The following are excerpts of the article:(1)
"Two cargo aircraft landed on the morning of Wednesday, August 4, 2004, at one of the Syrian military airfields in north Damascus. There to greet the planes were Iranian Ambassador to Syria Riza Baqiri and Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mas'ud Idris."
Al-Siyassa also reported that "several Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers had arrived the previous day from their headquarters at a Hizbullah military camp near the town of Qasrbana in al-Buqa' in order to unload a significant number of surface-to-surface missiles."
According to information received from the Syrian opposition in London on Saturday, August 14, the missiles "are of the most recent and improved Iranian model, with a 250- to 350-kilometer range, with which it is possible to hit any target in Israel." The sources also reported to Al-Siyassa that the two deliveries comprised 220 missiles "that Iran had not so far supplied to any foreign entity...
"Over Thursday and Friday [August 12-13], the missiles were transported in civilian Syrian and Lebanese trucks to three Hizbullah military bases" in the regions of Jenta and Yahfufa near the Syrian border, as well as to southern Ba'albek.
The Syrian opposition said that according to information they claim to have received from a senior source in the Syrian military in Damascus, "the alert level of the Syrian missile corps, deployed mostly in the North and East of the country [i.e., Syria], has been raised to high after commanders in military intelligence and in the Ba'th party in Damascus received information about the possibility that the Israeli Air Force would attack the nuclear reactors in Iran via Jordanian, Iraqi, and Turkish skies."
It was also stated that in the event of such an Israeli attack, "Hizbullah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Lebanon overseeing the deployment and maintenance of thousands of missiles of various ranges would fire these missiles at cities in the Hebrew state, which could expand the aerial attacks on the nuclear, chemical, and biological installations and uranium-enrichment plants in Iran, such that the attack would also include Syria and Lebanon." In the same article, Al-Siyassa reported that a "Syrian military source told the Syrian opposition in London that an Iranian military delegation specializing in missiles had accompanied the two deliveries to Syria, in order to oversee the deployment of the missiles in the various regions in Lebanon."
The newspaper also quoted the source as saying that Iranian-Syrian missile cooperation is "the closest cooperation in the history of the two countries' strategic relations, since Iranian scientists working on developing the Shihab missiles in Tehran had gone to Syria at the beginning of the year [2004] to participate in the development of missile artillery based on the same source on which Iran relies - that is, North Korea."
Endnote:
(1) Al-Siyassa (Kuwait), August 17, 2004.
VISIT THE NEW MEMRI TV MONITOR PROJECT:
www.memritv.org
FOR THE MOST RECENT MEMRI NEWS TICKERS GO TO:
www.memri.org/ticker.html
FOR MORE ON MEMRI'S JIHAD & TERRORISM STUDIES PROJECT GO TO:
www.memri.org/jihad.html
FOR MORE ON SYRIA GO TO:
www.memri.org/syria.html
FOR MORE ON IRAN GO TO:
www.memri.org/iran.html
War of Words as Iran Threatens Israel
August 19, 2004
AFP
Jordan Times
TEHRAN -- Iran will strike the Israeli reactor at Dimona if Israel attacks the Islamic republic's own burgeoning nuclear facilities, a commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying Wednesday.
“If Israel fires one missile at Bushehr atomic power plant, it should permanently forget about Dimona nuclear centre, where it produces and keeps its nuclear weapons, and Israel would be responsible for the terrifying consequence of this move,” General Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr warned.
Iran's controversial bid to generate nuclear power at its plant being built at Bushehr is seen by arch-enemies Israel and the United States as a cover for nuclear weapons development. The general's comments, reported by the Iranian press, mark an escalation in an exchange of threats between Israel and Iran in recent weeks, leading to speculation that there may be a repeat of Israel's strike against Iraqi nuclear facilities at Osirak in 1981.
Iran insists that its nuclear intentions are peaceful, while pointing at its enemy's alleged nuclear arsenal, which Israel neither confirms nor denies possessing.
Dimona, in the Negev desert, is allegedly where Israel produces weapons-grade plutonium for its estimated 200 nuclear warheads.
Revolutionary Guard chief Yadollah Javani on Sunday warned that “the entire Zionist territory including its nuclear establishments and atomic munitions are now within the range of Iran's advanced missiles.”
The statement came a few days after the Islamic Republic conducted what it called a successful test of an upgraded version of its conventional medium-range Shahab-3 missile.
The missile is considered the mainstay of Iran's military technology and portrayed as purely defensive and dissuasive, but also specifically as a weapon against Israel. The Revolutionary Guards, or Sepah-e Pasdaran, to whom the Shahab-3 has been entrusted, exist in parallel to the regular armed forces. The ideological spearhead of the regime, they are well equipped and have a navy and air force as well as ground trooops. Zolqadr however considered that “given the internal crises in the Zionist regime and its military, security and geographical vulnerability, Israel is not capable of attacking Iran and its threats are only propaganda.” The threats, said General Zolqadr, are aimed at depriving Iran of its “indisputable right” to nuclear technology for peaceful ends. Israel is concerned that Iran will continue developing nuclear weapons while a diplomatic solution is being sought. Israeli intelligence estimates that Iran will have a nuclear weapon by 2007. John Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security and a noted hawk in US President George W. Bush's administration, said Tuesday that bringing the Iranian nuclear dossier to the UN Security Council was “long overdue.”
“We cannot let Iran, a leading sponsor of international terrorism, acquire nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them to Europe, most of central Asia and the Middle East, or beyond,” he said.
Israel in July tested an improved version of its Arrow II anti-missile system, aimed squarely at fending off any attack by Iran. However, Israeli experts say that there is unlikely to be an Osirak-style strike on Iran's nuclear sites, saying their dispersal throughout the country and the current problems of the United States in Iraq would render such an attack counterproductive.
http://www.jordantimes.com/thu/news/news2.htm
Stabilizes
Mullahs Should be Punished for Nuclear Cheating
August 19, 2004
Telegraph, UK
Opinion
Iran yesterday stepped up its defiance of the outside world by threatening to destroy Israel's nuclear reactor at Dimona. General Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr of the Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying that this would be the consequence of any Israeli strike on the nuclear plant being built in the southern Iranian town of Bushehr.
The general was no doubt thinking of the attack ordered by Menachem Begin's government on the Osirak reactor in Iraq in 1981. He might also have reflected on why Israel might again think it necessary to take pre-emptive action against an Islamic threat.
The revolutionary regime in Teheran has steadfastly opposed the existence of the state of Israel and has given force to that belief by supporting Hizbollah in southern Lebanon and various armed Palestinian groups within the occupied territories.
In 2001, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former president who now heads the Expediency Council, said that if the Islamic world achieved nuclear parity with Israel, it would be able to annihilate that state while sustaining only damages from any counter-strikes. This insane calculation, which calmly envisages the death of millions of people on each side, is reminiscent of Mao's boast that China would come out on top after a nuclear war because of the vastness of its population.
Iran has learnt from Osirak to disperse its nuclear activities around the country, thus minimising the chance of a single, decisive strike against them. Having been caught cheating under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has shown signs of co-operation, then resumed an attitude of defiance.
The government has evidently calculated that American preoccupation with Iraq and the presidential election has created a window of opportunity for the pursuit of its nuclear ambitions with impunity. The International Atomic Energy Agency is due to discuss Iran at its next meeting in September, but it may well be November, when its board convenes again, before the matter is referred to the United Nations Security Council, a step which Washington has long advocated.
The British Government says it has no illusions about Iran's determination to become a nuclear weapons power, an admission which underlines the bankruptcy of its policy of constructive engagement. The rigged victory of the conservatives in parliamentary elections in February shattered any hopes that elected reformers could prevail against the clerical guardians of the 1979 revolution.
The breaking of agreements on nuclear matters with the European Union trio of Britain, France and Germany has dealt a second blow to the proponents of dialogue. Add to these Iranian meddling in Iraq and you have a classic case of diplomatic optimism being quickly confounded by a far grimmer reality.
Iran has long sought nuclear status as a means of achieving regional hegemony. But it also remains a power determined to export Islamic revolution worldwide, with the goal of destroying the liberal democracies. As John Bolton, American Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, reminded us yesterday, the sooner the issue of its nuclear programme is referred to the Security Council, the better.
If it persists in cheating, Teheran must be further isolated and, if necessary, punished by sanctions. Beyond that, America and its allies should leave the clerics in no doubt that they will not tolerate their possession of nuclear weapons. In such hands, they would pose a far greater threat than Iraq under Saddam Hussein.
http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/08/19/dl1901.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2004/08/19/ixoplead.html
Israel will not be persuaded by the threat.
Khatami thinks he can rock while GWB is under election scrutiny.
Khatami is wrong
I dont know what your beliefs are other than a free Iran.
It will not happen without a free Israel.
Israel Palestine jordan, they must become neighbors under freedom
"It will not happen without a free Israel."
I take that back.
Iran can be the imputus to a free society.
But we must meld the wounds to do it.
We should all be "Free"
Its a start
"We should all be "Free" "
YES!
"We need to stand by our friends."
Yes, we do. Thanks
Manoeuvre!
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
http://hammorabi.blogspot.com/
Muqtada Sadr thugs received orders from Iran to end their stand as part of new tactic.
MS militia are surrounded and hopelessly fighting for their death or surrender.
The Iraqi interim government is fool to accept less than surrender of Sadr and his militia after they put their arms not only in Najaf but everywhere else!
Sadr plan is to give up Najaf and continue somewhere else in the south and Al-Thawra city.
Democracy can not be brought to mideast countries by Bombs and Military Forces! The people there should learn the values of freedom, themselves!
Iran allegedly aborts anti-U.S. plot
menafn.com
August 19, 2004
UPI
TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Iran reportedly aborted a plot by al-Qaida and radical Iranian Revolutionary Guards to assassinate U.S. officers in central Asian countries neighboring Iran.
The Saudi daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat Thursday quoted sources close to Iranian intelligence, which is controlled by reformists, as saying that they discovered the plot after intercepting messages between al-Qaida operatives and Iranian Revolutionary Guards, along with the so-called Quds Brigade, in Iran.
Iranian intelligence also monitored telephone conversations between a senior official in the office of Iranian spiritual guide Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a senior operative of al-Qaida in Iran.
It said their findings indicated that "there is a sensational plot in which members of Quds Brigade, al-Qaida and the Revolutionary Guards were involved to assassinate U.S. military personnel and intelligence officers operating in central Asia, notably in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkmenistan, which are Iran's neighbors."
The paper said the plot was aimed at drawing Iran into direct confrontation with the United States as well as countries located on its northern border.
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId=CqsqLWeidAxjHBI1WBg90
Police Quiz Airport Film Group
August 19, 2004
The Scotsman
John Ross
Police have confirmed they are investigating an incident at Inverness Airport when four people, believed to be Iranians, were spotted filming in the early hours of the morning.
A security guard spotted the group, two men and two women, using a video camera from the car park at about 12:40am on 8 August. Later that day, 130 British and American marines arrived at Cameron Barracks in the city, ten miles from the airport, to begin a training exercise.
The group arrived by taxi and were dropped in the airport car park. The driver waited while they filmed near the terminal building, which had been closed for about two hours, before driving them away again. The guard immediately contacted police who later interviewed the group, but no arrests were made.
A police spokeswoman said a report had been received from airport security staff about people believed to be acting suspiciously. She said no arrests have been made but that inquiries into the incident are continuing. She could not confirm the group’s nationality.
She added: "It is thought that these persons may be foreigners to the area.
"We have a daily presence at the airport and take any such reports seriously."
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=959472004
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