Iranian Alert -- November 23, 2003 -- IRAN LIVE THREAD

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.

PS I have a daily ping list and a breaking news ping list. If you would like to receive alerts to these stories please let me know which list you would like to join.

U.S. eases stance on Iran nukes
Diplomats: U.S. willing to forego non-compliance reference

MSNBC

VIENNA, Austria, Nov. 21 — The United States has dropped its demand the U.N. atomic watchdog declare Iran in violation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, despite its belief Tehran wants to build an atom bomb, Western diplomats said on Saturday.

AFTER TWO days of talks, the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) 35-member Board of Governors on Friday adjourned until Wednesday to give diplomats a chance to revise a French, German and British draft resolution condemning Iran’s 18-year concealment of sensitive nuclear research.

However, Western diplomats said informal talks continued on Saturday between Washington and the capitals of the European Union’s “big three” to toughen up the trio’s proposal, two drafts of which the Americans rejected as too weak.

“Talks are definitely ongoing, though much of the discussion is taking place in the capitals,” a Western diplomat said.

Diplomats close to the talks said U.S. officials had foregone their demand for the resolution to contain an explicit reference to Iran’s past “non-compliance” with its NPT obligations and that Tehran be reported to the U.N. Security Council, which could choose to impose economic sanctions.

“I think the U.S. will accept a resolution without an explicit reference to non-compliance,” another diplomat said.

Diplomats told Reuters U.S. negotiators had abandoned early last week their demand that Iran be reported to the Council when it became apparent only four other board members — Japan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — would support this.

In exchange, diplomats close to the talks said the United States, which is convinced Iran wants nuclear weapons, were now helping Britain, France and Germany revise the resolution to include a timetable to keep pressure on Iran to cooperate.

The French, British and Germans want to encourage Iran to continue with its stated policy of fully cooperating with the IAEA rather than punish it for past failures. Diplomats said Germany especially feared too harsh a resolution would backfire and cause Iran to stop cooperating with the United Nations.

IRAN-IRAQ WAR LIKELY STARTED PROGRAM

In October, Iran gave the IAEA what is said was a full and accurate declaration of its nuclear program and said it had no more nuclear secrets to disclose. Tehran admits covering up the full extent of its atomic program but denies wanting bombs.

But a senior Western diplomat said there was no question Iran had an atomic weapons program that most likely began during the fierce Iran-Iraq war that lasted from 1980 to 1988.

He added that there were suspicions the program still exists.

The United States harshly criticized the IAEA for saying in a recent report on Iran that it had “no evidence” suggesting Tehran had a secret weapons program.

U.S. Ambassador to the IAEA, Kenneth Brill, told the board on Friday the phrase “no evidence” was “highly unfortunate” in the light of revelations about Iran’s cover-up and secret experiments with plutonium reprocessing and uranium enrichment.

He said the IAEA should have used the words “no proof” instead.

Brill said the IAEA’s wording had provoked “expressions of disbelief that the institution charged with... scrutinizing nuclear proliferation risks was dismissing important facts.”

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei reacted strongly, calling the U.S. statement “disingenuous.”

© 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/996567.asp

General Assembly committee approves resolution expressing concern at Iran rights violations

11-22-03
San Francisco Chronicle

A U.N. General Assembly committee approved a resolution Friday expressing serious concern at human rights violations in Iran.

The Canadian-sponsored draft resolution was adopted by a vote of 73-49 with 50 abstentions. It now goes to the full General Assembly where a similar vote is expected.

The United States and most European countries supported the resolution while Islamic nations opposed it.

The resolution expresses serious concern at "the continued deterioration of the situation with regard to freedom of opinion and expression" and at the use of torture and other forms of cruel and inhuman punishment.

At the same time, it welcomed Iran's invitation to human rights groups in April 2002 to visit the country and the opening of a human rights dialogue with a number of countries.

Before the vote, Iran's representative said that a journalist with dual Iranian and Canadian citizenship had died in Iranian custody, and said it was regrettable. The government has taken all necessary measures to bring those responsible to justice and an inquiry is under way, the diplomat said.

An Iranian intelligence agent has been charged in the murder of photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who died July 10 after suffering fatal head injuries during 77 hours of interrogation following her June 23 detention.

The Iranian diplomat stressed that the incident involving Kazemi was not enough to determine that there was no freedom of press in Iran.

Iranian hard-liners have jailed several dozen reformist journalists and political activists and closed about 100 pro-democracy publications during the past 31/2 years for criticizing the rule of the country's unelected hard-liners.

President Mohammad Khatami, who was elected on promises of introducing social and political reforms to Iran, has said newspaper closures and arrests of intellectuals and writers without trial or in closed, jury-less trials violated the constitution. Hard-liners have ignored his warnings.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/11/22/international0419EST0461.DTL

Israel Threatens Strikes on Iranian Nuclear Targets

November 23, 2003
Scotsman.com
Ross Dunn

ISRAEL has warned that it is prepared to take unilateral military action against Iran if the international community fails to stop any development of nuclear weapons at the country’s atomic energy facilities.

As the International Atomic Energy Agency prepares to meet again this week to discuss the situation in Iran, Israel has told Washington it is prepared to act alone and launch a strike similar to its attack on Iraq in 1981 when its air force bombed a nuclear reactor near Baghdad.

In an apparent attempt to increase pressure on the IAEA and United Nations to limit the development of Iran’s nuclear facilities, Israel’s defence minister Shaul Mofaz has made what sources have described as a warning of "unprecedented severity".

At the time of the Iraq attack, Israel defended its actions, claiming it had dealt a devastating blow to Saddam Hussein’s goal of developing nuclear weapons. Israel views Iran in much the same way as it did Saddam’s Iraq.

Mofaz set out his government’s position last week during a visit to the United States stating that "under no circumstances would Israel be able to tolerate nuclear weapons in Iranian possession".

He said that in the course of the next year Iran’s drive for nuclear weapons would "reach the point of no return".

Mofaz’s warning has been reinforced by Meir Dagan, the head of Israel’s secret services, Mossad, who claimed that the spectre of nuclear weaponry in Iran represented the greatest threat Israel had faced since the founding of the Jewish state in 1948.

Addressing Israel’s foreign affairs and defence committee, he added that he thought Iranian nuclear capabilities would pose a threat not only to Israel but to Europe as well. He also said that the Iranians were developing ground-to-ground missiles with a range of thousands of kilometres.

Dagen dismissed Iran’s claims that it had no plans to equip its missiles with atomic warheads. He said the reactor at Bashir in Iran was far too large to be used solely for generating electricity. He added that Iran was close to completing the building of a uranium enrichment facility and it would have the potential to produce 10 nuclear bombs a year.

The European Union position has been lightweight until now

The Israeli warning follows recent statements by Iran to the IAEA claiming that it is temporarily suspending its uranium enrichment programme and insisting that its atomic energy programme is only for peaceful purposes.

But Israel rejected Iran’s claims and took its case directly to the Vienna-based international watchdog where foreign affairs minister Silvan Shalom met with the director of the IAEA, Mohammed El Baradei. Shalom said the latest IAEA report "clearly indicated continuous Iranian violation over the past 20 years of its commitments to the international community regarding the nuclear issue and its programme to develop nuclear weapons".

During the meeting, Shalom called on the agency and the international community to act to guarantee that Iran abandons all of its efforts to enrich uranium.He argued that inspection of Iranian facilities should be rigorous and continuous and added that the issue should also be addressed by the UN Security Council.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon also weighed into the debate during talks last week with the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Rome. "I spoke at length with Berlusconi about the danger posed by Iran... It’s the number one danger," he said. Sharon called on Italy to appeal to the rest of Europe to take a stronger stand against Iran.

"I hope that Italy keeps Iran in very close check, because it seems to me that the European Union position has been lightweight up until now," he said.

Sharon’s concerns are shared by the United States. President George Bush said last week that the UN nuclear agency must hold Iran accountable under international non-proliferation agreements.

His appeal came amid divisions between the US and some European leaders over Iran’s nuclear programme, in advance of the key meeting of the IAEA governing board in Vienna.

Bush administration officials maintain that Iran has not been completely forthcoming to European envoys about its nuclear programme.

But the US administration has given key European foreign ministers credit for going to Tehran last month and getting a commitment from the Iranians to, among other things, stop enriching uranium.

At the same time, Washington continues to insist that Iran has been hiding a nuclear weapons programme and is concerned that this week’s IAEA board meeting will end without the matter being referred to the Security Council.

The issue was on the agenda at a recent State Department meeting between Secretary of State Colin Powell and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who made the trip to Tehran last month along with his British and French counterparts.

Then Powell took issue with an assertion by European Union chief diplomat Javier Solana that Iran has been "honest" in its dealings with the international community on its nuclear programme.

"I wouldn’t have gone quite as far," Powell said. "The Iranians have provided us with a great deal of information. It confirms what the United States has been saying for some time, and which we believe, that the Iranian nuclear development programme was for more than just the production of power; that it had intent to produce a nuclear weapon. And I think that the information that has come forward establishes that," he said.

Fischer sounded a similar theme in his remarks in Washington, saying recent Iranian actions had been "quite positive" but that close scrutiny was needed.

"We are moving forward based on realism, and realism based on transparency. I think we are moving in the right direction. But we must go into the details now.

http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/index.cfm?id=1292472003

Al Qaeda Ordered Saudi Bombing From Iran

November 23, 2003
Reuters
Yahoo News

RIYADH -- A senior al Qaeda militant orchestrated the bombing of a residential compound in Saudi Arabia earlier this month by telephone from Iran, a Saudi newspaper says.

Okaz newspaper, quoting informed sources on Sunday, said the militant network's security chief Saif al-Adel gave orders for the attack in the capital Riyadh by satellite phone.

Neither Saudi nor Iranian officials were immediately available to comment on the Okaz report.

"The sources said Saif al-Adel led the bombing operation of the Muhaya residential compound, using a Thuraya phone to give instructions to the terrorists in the kingdom who carried out the criminal operation," the Arabic-language daily said.

"The sources said that the terrorist Saif al-Adel is in Iran," it added.

At least 18 people were killed in the Muhaya bombing two weeks ago, blamed on Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. The attack followed triple suicide bombings in Riyadh in May which killed 35 people.

The newspaper said Saif al-Adel fled to Iran with 500 al Qaeda members during the intensive U.S. bombing of Afghanistan in late 2001. It said they were detained by Iranian troops.

Some al Qaeda militants in northern Iran were in touch with figures outside including bin Laden, it added.

Asked on Sunday about U.S. media reports that bin Laden and top al Qaeda figures may be in Iran, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman told reporters in Tehran:

"These are rumours...We are serious about confronting al Qaeda. We have always been and will continue to be so."

Iran has said it arrested a number of al Qaeda members, including some senior figures, but has declined to name them and says it will not hand them over to U.S. officials for questioning.

Last month, Tehran said it had given the names of extradited al Qaeda suspects to the U.N. Security Council but declined to give any details of detainees remaining in the country.

Western intelligence sources and media reports suggest Iran may be holding Saif al-Adel.

Washington has in the past accused Iran of sheltering al Qaeda and said members of the militant network in Iran may have planned the May bombings in Riyadh. Iran denied the charges.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/031123/325/eepow.html

U.S. Wants U.N. Resolution to Clearly Warn Iran

November 23, 2003
Reuters
Louis Charbonneau

VIENNA -- Washington wants France, Germany and Britain to agree to warn Iran it will be reported to the U.N. Security Council if any further violations of its nuclear obligations are uncovered, diplomats said Sunday.

The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) 35-member Board of Governors Friday adjourned talks until Wednesday, to give diplomats a chance to revise a resolution drafted by the three European states condemning Iran's 18-year concealment of atomic research which could be arms-related.

Informal talks were to continue Sunday between Washington and the Europeans to toughen up the proposed IAEA resolution, two drafts of which the Americans have rejected as too weak.

Washington accuses Iran of having a secret nuclear weapons program. But it has dropped its demand that the resolution find Iran in "non-compliance" with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and be reported to the Council for sanctions.

One Western diplomat said Sunday the United States was pushing for a "trigger mechanism" stating clearly that Tehran would "be reported" for any more NPT breaches uncovered by the IAEA -- which could only mean reporting to the Council.

The second draft of the resolution, seen by Reuters, does contain such a "trigger mechanism," but Washington rejected it as too vague and is helping draft a third. But diplomats said the Germans were afraid a strong "trigger" would backfire and cause the Iranians to curtail cooperation with the IAEA.

Iran accused Washington of holding up the process of agreeing on an IAEA resolution. U.S. officials have said they would prefer no resolution to a weak one.

"The Americans, who failed to impose their views on the other members of the board, want to create tension and are now wasting time," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told a weekly news conference in Tehran.

"Our European friends are convinced that Iran has not violated the international agreements," Asefi said.

The resolution will most likely also contain a timetable to keep up the pressure on Iran to cooperate with IAEA inspectors.

Iran denies wanting nuclear weapons but has acknowledged hiding experiments with uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing from the IAEA. Tehran says it has no more secrets.

U.S. CREDIBILITY UNDERMINED BY IRAQ

The struggle to arrive at an agreement on an IAEA resolution on Iran has ignited a war of words between the U.N. body and the United States.

Friday, the U.S. ambassador to the IAEA, Kenneth Brill, harshly criticized the IAEA for saying in a report on Iran it had "no evidence" that Tehran had a secret weapons program. It should have said instead it had "no proof," he said.

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei in response accused Brill of making "disingenuous" remarks.

Diplomats have said privately that the U.S. failure to get the IAEA board to report Iran to the Security Council reflects the damage done to the credibility of U.S. intelligence by the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage rejected this view in an interview on the U.S. broadcaster PBS.

"On the contrary," he said. "Now faced with the admissions of the Iranians themselves, I think that both our intelligence agencies and our political judgments are validated."

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3877208

Jordan's FM Meets President Khatami

November 23, 2003
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
IRIB News

Tehran -- Jordan's Foreign Minister Marwan Muashar in a meeting with President Mohammad Khatami here on Sunday delivered the written message of Jordanian king Abdullah II.

In the meeting, President Khatami referred to King Abdullah's recent visit to Iran as a turning point in mutual relations and reiterated the need for exchange of views and close cooperation among the regional states under the current sensitive conditions to achieve development, stability and security.

The president underlined expansion of ties between Iran and Jordan on the basis of mutual respect and protection of bilateral interests, the requirement for serious follow-up of the mutually-signed agreements and specialized assessment of making the optimum use of all available potentials.

Explaining Jordan's stance and the impact of the events taking place in Palestine on it and referring to the significance of establishment of a justified peace, he said that the Middle Eastern countries are in dire need of security and tranquility.

President Khatami attributed the failure of peace projects in the occupied Palestine to the non-compliance with the international laws and agreements by the Zionist regime and its ignorance of the actual rights of the oppressed Palestinian nation and regional governments.

He hoped to witness sustainable peace in the region once the deserved rights of the Palestinians are restored and all refugees return to their occupied land.

Briefing Jordan's Foreign Minister on Iran's approach towards the developments in Iraq, he pointed to the peril of the current situation for the Iraqis, occupiers and regional states and said that the US atrocious policies contribute to promotion of rudeness on the international scene.

The chief executive referred to the continued occupation of Iraq as the main cause of tribal discrepancies in the country and hoped that the transfer of power to the Iraqis will be materialized.

For his part, Marwan Muasher referred to the recent visit of Jordan's monarch to Iran and the interest of his country in bolstering ties with Iran in various fields and underlined the need for identification of all the potentials contributing to this end.

Turning to the upcoming visit of Jordan's expert delegation to Iran in the coming months, he voiced the call of both countries for Iraq's territorial integrity and unity.

Briefing President Khatami on Jordan's policy towards the developments in Iraq, the official said, "We believe that Iraq should become a powerful country seeking peaceful coexistence with its neighboring states."

He reiterated that the Palestinians should be provided with the right to determine their own fate and form an independent country.

"The failure to materialize such an objective will be harmful to the regional states," concluded Muasher.

http://www.iribnews.com/Full_en.asp?news_id=193074

PM Charges Mossad with Thwarting Iran's Nuclear Plans

November 23, 2003
Ha'aretz
Aluf Benn and Gideon Alon

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon held a special meeting on the Iranian nuclear threat on Sunday, deciding that he would personally oversee Israel's efforts to scuttle Iran's plans to produce nuclear weapons.

Sharon also decided that the Foreign Ministry will concentrate diplomatic efforts to convince world leaders to take steps against the Iranian threat.

The Mossad will be responsible for all other issues connected to scuttling the plans.

The discussion on Iran had been postponed a number of times. Sunday's meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and senior officials from the Israel Defense Forces, the Mossad and the National Security Council.

Last week, Mossad chief Meir Dagan told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the Iranian nuclear potential is an existential threat to the State of Israel.

"We believe the Iranians will continue developing nuclear military projects and in their hands such weapons pose, for the first time, an existential threat to Israel," he said.

Dagan said the reactor in Bushehr is large, has a 100-megawatt capacity and is scheduled to be operative by the end of 2004 or the beginning of 2005.

The Iranians, he said, are also about to complete a uranium-enriching plant in Kashan. If no special technological problems arise, this plant may reach a production potential of 10 nuclear bombs, he said.

Dagan said that Iran's nuclear activity was exposed by exiled Iranian sources in the United States.

Dagan said the Iranians invested dozens of billions of dollars in the nuclear project, which "has no economic justification, unless they intend to arm themselves with nuclear arms."

During a trip to Vienna last week, Shalom met with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Chairman, Mohammed El-Baradei. The meeting was held in advance of an IAEA session relating to Iran's nuclear program.

Shalom told the IAEA chairman that nuclear weapons in Iran's possession would pose a threat not just to Israel, but to the world at large. Shalom asked El-Baradei whether he believes Tehran has relinquished ambitions of attaining nuclear weapons.

The IAEA chairman replied it has not been easy for the Iranians to do what they have already done (disclosing their nuclear efforts, and consenting to inspectors). The international community, El-Baradei added, expected Tehran to carry out some additional steps.

"I know you [Israelis] are skeptical, and I too am skeptical," said the IAEA chairman. He added that Iranians are unlikely to agree conclusively to "cessation" of their nuclear activity until they are sure they will receive favorable trade arrangements or technology transfers in return.

The IAEA chairman did not bring up Israel's nuclear program in the discussion. Instead, he spoke generally about the importance of regional arrangements.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=364185&contrassID=1&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y

Murdered Activists Commemoration Leads to Clashes in Tehran

SMCCDI (Information Service)
Nov 23, 2003

Sporadic and often violent clashes have followed the commemorative ceremony of the murdered activists and writers, such as the Foroohars, at the Zarabkhane and Pasdaran areas of Tehran.

Clubs, chains and Tear Gas sprays were used by the regime forces against tens of men and women who requested for justice and their freedom. Plainclothes men and Bassidj force attacked hundreds of demonstrators who shouted slogans against the regime and its leadership while calling for regime change in Iran.

Slogans, such as, "Nabood bad Estebdad" (Down with Dictatorship), "Marg bar Taleban" (Down with Taleban), "Ansar Jenayat Mikonad, Rahbar Hemayat Mikonad" (Ansar commits crimes, Supreme Leader covers them), "Rafsanjani, Boro Gom Sho" (Rafsanjani, Get lost), "Khatami, Estefa, Estefa" (Khatami, Resignation, Resignation) "Mellat mimirad, zelat nemipazirad" (People ready to die but won't accept submission), "Toop, Tank, Bassidji, digar Assar Nadarad" (Guns, Bassij, Have no more effect), "Mellat Ba gheyrat, Hemayat, Hemayat" (Vailant People, Support, Support), "Zendani e Siassi, Azad bayad guardad" (Political prisoner must be free), "Emrooz faghat Etehad" (Today Only Unity), "Sherkat dar Entekhabat, Khyanat, Khyanat" (Participation in Elections, Treason, Treason), "Refrundum, Refrundum, in ast shoar e Mardom" (Refrundum, Refrundum, this is our people's slogan) were shouted by the demonstrators despite the brutal attacks leading in the arrests and injuries of several of them.

More violent clashes happened at Shariati- Hemat Junctions and in Seyed Khandan resulting in traffic jams and cars using their horns to show support and condemn repression.

The regime forces have closed all perimeters.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_3749.shtml

Sistani: Clerics Must Remain Outside Politics

November 17, 2003
Iraq Today
Zaid H. Fahm

NAJAF -- Some seven months since the fall of the regime, the elusive Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani remains adamantly against the involvement of Muslim religious leaders in Iraq's politics and political institutions, but still advocates the elections of a constitutional convention.

In a rare communication with the press, Sistani outlined his thoughts on the new Iraq to Iraq Today, conveying his concerns and hopes for Muslims in Iraq.

Sistani has long argued that the men of religion must advise people in their daily lives and concerns and open their mind to dangers matters of consciences they may face if they were to veer from Islam or religion in general. But, he said, religious men must give Muslims the chance to decide for themselves what is best for them. Men of religion should not order people or using them for their own sake and interests, because if they do they will lose the basic sense of being religious men.

Nonetheless, he remains adamant that the new Iraqi constitution be formed soon with an election of constitutional convention members. "Everything should start with a general election to put the first steps to form the constitution conference in place," Sistani said. "As for the law, because Islam is the religion of most people in Iraq the rules of our Islam must be represented in some of the rules of the constitution."

The steering committee responsible for choose the people who will likely write the constitution visited Sistani on several occasions several times, he said, and they agreed that elections should be organized to form the constitutional conference.

Turbulent time

It has been a turbulent few months for Sistani, who has found himself in direct clashes with Muqtada Sader, Najaf's fiery and confrontational preacher. Last month, clashes between Sader's men and supporters of Sistani left 14 dead in a week of skirmishes centered on gaining control of the holy city from Sistani. "We hope that this kind of clash doesn't happen again in the future," Sistani said. "When the clashes began I sent a special envoy to calm down the situation there and tried to solve the problems there. He succeeded in that."

Sistani offered some reasoning for his abrupt pullout from Karbala's town council two weeks ago, a move that sapped away much of the council's legitimacy (See Iraq Today, November 10).

The council, which was heavily populated by Sistani's backers, was expanded to 40 members to allow other groups to have a voice, including Sader's. But in a sudden move, Sistani pulled his men out insisting that he did not want to answer for the council's mistakes. "Our marja prefers not to interfere in the administrative affairs of the city," he wrote Iraq Today. "We will make sure to supply the needs of poor people and the people who need any kind of help with all the capabilities a marja can have."

But Sistani refrained from any comments about the new government that formed by Muqtada Al Sader and about his policy and what he has doing lately in Iraqi street. Despite a decades long feud, Sistani insists he is still in charge.

The high ground

Sistani is widely considered the highest marja for Shia and has the widest following of any cleric in Iraq. He was born in 1929 in Mashad, Iran to a well-respected family known for its religious standing and its roots go back to the prophet Mohamed, earning him the title "Seyed". He began studying in Qom in 1948 then moved to Najaf where he began studying under the highest marja a the time, Abu al-Kasem al-Khoie (Al Khoie's son Abdul Majed was killed in Najaf shortly after the fall of the regime, in a grizzly hour long attack).

Sistani's has long advocated the interest and the rights of the Iraqi individual, arguing that every person is responsible for his or her own choices in life and be careful to live an Islamic life. Islam, he often preaches, gives guidance to find the right path in life.

Between 1992 and 1993 several high level clerics like al-Khoie died, leaving Sistani as the heir apparent to the Hawza. Most of the school's religious scholars backed Sistani, who was widely respected as a wise scholar. But several clerics, most notably Mohamed Sadeq al-Sader, refused to honor Sistani's position. Sader insisted he could lead al-Hawza better, setting off a long running rivalry that lives on in his son Muqtada, who has taken on the Shia orthodoxy head-on. Indeed, the latest clashes between Sader and Sistani date back decades along time before and its not a new thing for the both sides but it had a long history in the days of Muqtada's father Mohamed al-Sader.

Sader's men have long dismissed Sistani for being non-Arab, insisting that al-Hawza be an Arabic institution. But Sistani rarely answers their dismissals, delicately managing the aggressiveness in order to avoid even bigger battles. Sistani may be fighting the battle of his life as infighting amongst the Hawza and the Shia in general has tainted the post-Saddam life of many Muslims in Iraq. But, he says, he is still confident his creed will prevail.

http://www.iraq-today.com/article.php?id=246

With Iran, US plays tough-guy

Al-Jazeerah TV
11-23-03

Gulf News, 23-11-2003

The US Administration may think it is "on a roll" in its fight against perceived unwelcome regimes, but it has yet to prove it is capable of completing what it has already undertaken in Afghanistan and Iraq. Yet, not content with causing chaos there, America turns its attention to Iran, claiming it has a nuclear capability, that is, the ability – or near ability – to make a nuclear bomb.

While Iran has been economical with the truth on this, the authority charged by the United Nations to verify such capability, the International Atomic Energy Association, IAEA, is content Iran does not possess a weapons programme. The IAEA concedes there is still more investigation to be done, but will not declare that Iran is not telling the truth and that there is, indeed, a nuclear programme being undertaken.

Unfortunately the American administration is not content with the statements issued by the IAEA and asserts that the IAEA's report is "questionable". Although the US appears to have backed down from its demand to impose UN sanctions on Iraq for non-compliance with the IAEA treaties, the aggressive attitude being adopted by the US is very reminiscent of the time when they hounded UN weapons inspector Hans Blix, discrediting the independent investigator's findings over Iraq.

The present head of the IAEA, Mohammed ElBaradei, who was also under fire alongside Blix, has called America's disbelief of its findings "disingenuous" and that the IAEA "reflects facts, as radar does, without partiality." It is possible, of course, that the US fails to understand what an impartial body is, since experience has shown us that its so-called impartiality over the Palestine-Israel question is very far from impartial. Maybe it is because of such a record, America comes to distrust all other impartial bodies.

http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2003%20Opinion%20Editorials/November/23%20o/With%20Iran,%20US%20plays%20tough-guy%20Gulf%20News.htm

Congressional Report: Saudis Fear Iran Nuke Threat

November 23, 2003
World Tribune
World Tribune.com

Saudi Arabia has become increasingly concerned by the nuclear threat from Iran in the aftermath of the toppling of the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq.

A new congressional report asserted that the Saudi kingdom has not been assuaged by Iranian efforts to improve relations with Riyad and other Gulf Cooperation Council states. The Congressional Research Service said the Iranian threat has emerged as the Saudi kingdom has become increasingly vulnerable regarding its relations with the United States.

"Although relations with Iran have improved, the Saudi leadership remains wary of the Shi'ite Muslim clerical regime that has governed Iran since 1979 and concerned over Iran's pursuit of advanced conventional arms and weapons of mass destruction," the report, entitled "Saudi Arabia: Current Issues and U.S. Relations," said. "On the other hand, while welcoming a U.S. security umbrella, Saudi leaders have become increasingly vulnerable to domestic and regional criticism for appearing to side with the United States against fellow Arab and Muslim regimes."

Authored by analyst Alfred Prados, the report said Saudi Arabia and other GCC states have long been concerned over threats from Iran and Iraq. The report said the combined forces of the six GCC states have been outnumbered by Iran and Iraq.

Despite tension with Washington, the United States remains the leading weapons supplier to Saudi Arabia, with $4.6 billion in arms agreements from 1994 through 2001. The report said, however, that Riyad has decreased procurement since the mid-1990s amid increasingly difficult economic circumstances.

The report warns of difficulties of U.S. companies that do business in Saudi Arabia. Saudi clients were said to have failed to pay for U.S. services or "sought to expand terms of a contract without further reimbursement, and in some cases have taken reprisals against U.S. employees of the firms involved."

The report said despite a huge arms procurement program Saudi Arabia and the five other GCC states remain vulnerable to Iranian aggression. But the report said the United States has demonstrated a strong security commitment to Saudi Arabia.

"Although Saudi forces acquired experience during the Gulf war and are undergoing further upgrading through a large-scale program of arms procurement, both Saudi Arabia and its five smaller Gulf neighbors remain vulnerable to future external aggression," the report said. "On one hand, both the Iranian and Iraqi armed forces suffered major personnel and equipment losses during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war and Operation Desert Storm, respectively, and neither is in a position to offer an immediate threat to the Gulf Cooperation Council. On the other hand, the combined forces of Saudi Arabia and its GCC allies are outnumbered in important categories by those of Iran and Iraq [before its recent defeat in Operation Iraqi Freedom]."

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