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Iranian Alert -- July 30, 2003 -- LIVE THREAD PING LIST
The Iranian Student Movement Up To The Minute Reports ^ | 7.30.2003 | DoctorZin

Posted on 07/30/2003 12:10:14 AM PDT by DoctorZIn

The regime is working hard to keep the news about the protest movment in Iran from being reported.

From jamming satellite broadcasts, to prohibiting news reporters from covering any demonstrations to shutting down all cell phones and even hiring foreign security to control the population, the regime is doing everything in its power to keep the popular movement from expressing its demand for an end of the regime.

These efforts by the regime, while successful in the short term, do not resolve the fundamental reasons why this regime is crumbling from within.

Iran is a country ready for a regime change. 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.

Please continue to join us here, post your news stories and comments to this thread.

Thanks for all the help.

DoctorZin


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: iran; iranianalert; protests; studentmovement
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To find all the links to all 51 threads since the protests started, go to:


1 posted on 07/30/2003 12:10:14 AM PDT by DoctorZIn
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; Pan_Yans Wife; fat city; freedom44; Tamsey; Grampa Dave; PhiKapMom; ...
Join Us at the Iranian Alert -- July 30, 2003 -- LIVE THREAD PING LIST

Live Thread Ping List | 7.30.2003 | DoctorZin

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

2 posted on 07/30/2003 12:11:22 AM PDT by DoctorZIn (IranAzad... Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: DoctorZIn
http://www.iranwpd.com/default.asp?p=current&t=5353

Iran not to give in to any E.U. preconditions


July 21 – Iran will not give in to any preconditions pressure by the European Union over bilateral cooperation, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Assefi said Monday.
“The trade pact is based on mutual interests and no side will benefit more than the other, therefore it cannot be used as a political tool for putting preconditions,” Assefi said.


The spokesman was referring to the European Union meeting in Brussels, where the E.U. foreign ministers are expected to step up pressure on Iran to provide rapid and significant guarantees regarding its nuclear programme before expanding bilateral political and trade cooperation.


“Our nuclear projects are transparent and peaceful and we
neither had nor will have any secret projects,” the spokesman said.


Assefi reiterated that Iran was it committed to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and added that joining the additional protocol of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which authorizes unannounced inspections of Iran’s nuclear sites, will require sincere cooperation from both sides and not only Iran.


Before signing the additional IAEA protocol, Tehran wants some guarantees are granted, such as an end to trade sanctions against the Islamic state and also U.S. allegations of Iran misusing its nuclear facilities to produce nuclear weapons.


Tehran also wants to make sure that such a move would not be considered as political weakness but a proof of the peaceful nature of its nuclear projects.


Assefi further blamed British Prime Minister Tony Blair who on Saturday had termed reports on enriched uranium in Iran as dangerous, saying that acquiring nuclear weapons by countries like Iran would jeopardise regional and global stability.
“Probably such baseless remarks are more in connection with the pressure Mr. Blair is currently going through at home as it is clear to everyone that the main root of regional and global instability lies in Israel’s unwillingness to respect any internationally acknowledged laws,” the spokesman said./-
3 posted on 07/30/2003 12:21:02 AM PDT by freedom44
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To: All
Occupation Detains 2 Iranians in Iraq

By THE NEW YORK TIMES
7.29.2003

AGHDAD, Iraq, July 29 — Two Iranians have been detained here on suspicion of security violations, an official with the Coalition Provisional Authority said today. The two were arrested in early July, and were posing as journalists, the official said.

"What they were involved in was not legitimate journalism," the official said. "They were detained for doing things that we do not consider journalism."

Occupation officials did not specify the security violations the two Iranians were accused of committing.

Tehran has demanded the release of the two, identifying them as Saeed Abutaleb and Soheil Karimi, documentary filmmakers for the state broadcaster IRIB, Reuters reported. American forces have warned Iran not to interfere in postwar Iraq.

The news of the arrests comes as Iran struggles to deflect attention from a dispute with Canada over the death of a photographer who held Iranian and Canadian passports. The photographer, Zahra Kazemi, died in Iranian police custody after a blow to the head. Canada requested the return of Ms. Kazemi's remains for autopsy and burial, but Iran allowed her to be buried.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/30/international/middleeast/30IRAN.html
4 posted on 07/30/2003 12:22:19 AM PDT by DoctorZIn (IranAzad... Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: DoctorZIn
http://mobarezan.com/nangeen.htm


a 'hitlist' --members of the IRI who must face trials and it's consequences after regime change.
5 posted on 07/30/2003 12:28:03 AM PDT by freedom44
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To: DoctorZIn; nuconvert; Texas_Dawg; McGavin999; Eala; freedom44; happygrl; risk; ewing; norton; ...
Iran oil project likely on table as Japan, U.S. to talk energy

The Asahi Shimbun- Japan

WASHINGTON-Senior Japanese and U.S. officials set to begin bilateral talks on energy issues this week will likely discuss Tokyo's plans to develop an Iranian oil field.

If they take up the issue, it will be the two nations' first official discussion of the Iranian project, which Washington opposes.

The Japanese delegation was scheduled to arrive Tuesday in Washington for preliminary talks with their U.S. counterparts, followed by the main negotiations.

In proposing the energy talks, Washington is believed to have been motivated primarily by its concern over Tokyo's intention to develop the Azadegan oil field in Iran. The area is estimated to hold 26 billion barrels of oil.

While state-affiliated and private players in Japan are currently in talks with Tehran, Washington has been pressuring Tokyo to postpone its participation in the project. The United States claims Iran harbors nuclear ambitions.

Observers say conservatives in the administration of President George W. Bush see the negotiations as an opportunity to persuade Japan to back out of the oil project.

Japan's delegation in the talks will include Deputy Foreign Minister Ichiro Fujisaki, Natural Resources and Energy Agency Director-General Iwao Okamoto, and Kazumasa Kusaka, director-general of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Trade Policy Bureau. The U.S. side will be represented by senior officials from the State Department and the Energy Department.

The preliminary talks will focus mainly on the agenda and ground rules for the negotiations.

In the event the U.S. officials bring up the Iranian project in the preliminary talks, however, the Japanese side will argue that Japan's participation in the project will not affect its cautious attitude toward Iran's possible nuclear ambitions, government sources said.

Tokyo, meanwhile, expects to call for U.S. support for its energy development efforts in Siberia, the sources said.

If Washington tries at the negotiating table to link the Iranian oil project with the distribution of oil rights in postwar Iraq, the talks may lead to more comprehensive questions regarding Japanese and U.S. energy interests in the Middle East.
(IHT/Asahi: July 30,2003)

http://www.asahi.com/english/international/K2003073000329.html
6 posted on 07/30/2003 12:30:38 AM PDT by F14 Pilot (If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.)
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To: freedom44
This is great. We could make a deck of cards from this.

We could use a similar list of appeasers of the regime, here in the US.
7 posted on 07/30/2003 12:30:57 AM PDT by DoctorZIn (IranAzad... Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: All
Iran Threat Is Topic at Summit of Bush, Sharon

By BENNY AVNI Special to the Sun 7.30.2003

Palestinian Arabs were disappointed yesterday when President Bush avoided pressuring Prime Minister Sharon and refrained from criticizing him about a fence Israel is building around the West Bank.

The main issue, the two leaders said as they stood side by side in the Rose Garden, was opposition to terrorism.

The message was clear: There is little disagreement between the American president and the Israeli leader as they seek to implement a peace plan known as the “road map.”

A senior Israeli official said there were “no disputes, no disagreements, [and] no pressure” at the meeting and a subsequent luncheon.

The routing of the fence — which has been in dispute — was not even raised at the meeting, the official said.
Instead, the two leaders used their press conference to focus on terrorism and relegated their disagreement about the fence to a lower-level concern.
“All parties agree that a fundamental obstacle to peace is terrorism, which can never be justified by any cause,” Mr. Bush said.

Behind closed doors, the Israeli official said, the leaders discussed Iran’s role in the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank.

Israel’s deputy ambassador to the U.N.,Arye Mekel, told the Security Council yesterday that Israel had foiled several attempts by Al Qaeda to establish a presence in the region and recruit Palestinian Arabs for terror operations.

At the White House, Mr. Sharon made a point to commend Mr.Bush’s efforts in Iraq and the war on global terror.

The comments had pundits in Israel and America likening the administration’s hawkish policies to those long advocated by the prime minister.

Mr. Bush, for his part, also accentuated the preventive measures taken against terrorists and lauded Israel’s recent decision to release Palestinian Arab prisoners. Mr. Bush said it would add to the positive atmosphere between the sides. But even that, he added, should not override the war on terror.“If we’re trying to fight off terror, and we’re interested in a peaceful settlement,” he said. “It doesn’t make any sense to release somebody who is going to get out of prison and start killing.”

On the eve of Mr. Sharon’s visit, the Israeli Cabinet discussed removing additional checkpoints in the West Bank, an Israeli source said yesterday, after it announced three major checkpoints would be removed this week.

Mr. Sharon indicated that further measures depended on a crackdown by the Palestinian Authority on Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terror groups.

“I wish to move forward with a political process with our Palestinian neighbors,” Mr. Sharon said. But, he added, “The right way to do that is only after a complete cessation of terror, violence and incitement, full dismantlement of terror organizations, and completion of the reform process in the Palestinian Authority.”

Mr. Bush agreed.“The most effective campaign to enhance the security of Israel, as well as the security of peaceloving people in the Palestinian territories,is to get after organizations such as Hamas, the terrorist organizations that create the conditions where peace won’t exist,” he said.

The president softened somewhat his administration’s criticism of the fence, calling it a “sensitive issue.” He said he and Mr. Sharon would continue to discuss “how best to make sure that the fence sends the right signal that not only is security important, but the ability for the Palestinians to live a normal life is important, as well.”

Israelis believe Palestinian Arabs lobbying in Washington changed perceptions by likening the barrier to the Berlin Wall.The Israeli official said that in the meeting yesterday Mr. Sharon compared the security device to the fence America built on the southern border with Mexico.
8 posted on 07/30/2003 12:38:59 AM PDT by DoctorZIn (IranAzad... Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: DoctorZIn; freedom44
Could you send the link to other Posters?
9 posted on 07/30/2003 12:40:18 AM PDT by F14 Pilot (If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.)
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To: DoctorZIn; freedom44; nuconvert; Texas_Dawg; McGavin999; Eala; happygrl; risk; ewing; norton; ...
I would like to draw your attention to the pics of the below link, Thank you FREEDOM44 for the posts and the recent link.

http://mobarezan.com/tasavir.htm

Pictures of the protests of the Iranian people.
10 posted on 07/30/2003 12:54:17 AM PDT by F14 Pilot (If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; Pan_Yans Wife; fat city; freedom44; Tamsey; Grampa Dave; PhiKapMom; ...
Report: PM shows Bush evidence of Iranian nuclear program

By Haaretz Service and Reuters
Last Update: 30/07/2003 09:06

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his military attache presented intelligence evidence on Iran's nuclear program during Tuesday White House talks with President George W. Bush, and Israeli officials told the Bush administration there was growing evidence that Iran was stepping up support
for Palestinian militants following the war in Iraq, Israel Radio and sources close to the discussions said.

Bush warned last week earlier that Iran and Syria would be
"held accountable" if they supported terrorism.

Israeli officials said new intelligence points to Iran
filling the void left by Iraq in supporting militant groups
including Hamas and Hizbollah, and that Tehran was actively trying to undercut a month-old ceasefire.

"It must be made clear to these countries that their evil deeds cannot continue," Sharon said at a joint news conference with Bush.

The radio said Sharon's military attache had shown Bush aerial photographs and other evidence of Iranian efforts to attain enriched uranium for use in weapons development.

U.S. officials have not ruled out military action to stop Tehran from making nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and denies the terrorism
charge.

National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack said Tuesday "Both Iran and Syria need to make a fundamental choice about the war on terrorism and to stop harboring and
supporting terrorists and terrorist networks."

In building support for the war in Iraq, Bush cited Saddam Hussein's support for Palestinian militants.

Israeli officials said new intelligence suggests that Iran was offering $50,000 to the families of suicide bombers -- double the amount paid by the Iraqi president when he was in power.

"We also know specifically of Iranian involvement, through Hizbollah and other groups, to undermine (Palestinian Prime
Minister Mahmoud Abbas) and to encourage terrorism... and undermine the cease-fire," said one Israeli official involved in the talks.

Bush met with Abbas at the White House last week.

The United States has accused Iran of harboring members of the al Qaeda network blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?j82197890

"If you want on or off this Iran ping list, Freepmail me”
11 posted on 07/30/2003 12:58:05 AM PDT by DoctorZIn (IranAzad... Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: All
U.S. reiterates concerns over Japanese oil project in Iran

WASHINGTON, July 29, Kyodo -

The U.S. government reiterated its concerns Tuesday over Iran's nuclear program and an oil development project a Japanese consortium is pursuing in the country.

In a preliminary consultation for Japan-U.S. working-level energy talks, issues centering on Iran topped the agenda as Washington suspects the country's nuclear facilities may be used to develop nuclear weapons, Japanese government sources said.

U.S. officials referred to the need for Teheran to sign the International Atomic Energy Agency's Additional Protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which would open the way for stepped-up inspections of Iran's nuclear sites, they said.

Alan Larson, undersecretary of state for economic, business, and agricultural affairs, was among the U.S. participants.

Iwao Okamoto, director general of the Natural Resources and Energy Agency, and other Japanese officials stressed the importance of pursuing oil development on Japan's own initiative in reference to the project involving Iran's massive Azadegan oil field.

The U.S. government has been pressuring Japan to withdrawal from the project.

Tuesday's meeting ended with an agreement to hold bilateral working-level energy talks this fall for the first time since 1996.

The Japan-U.S. working-level energy talks were held regularly between 1989 and 1996, featuring deputy directors general or their equivalent from energy-related departments of both sides.

http://home.kyodo.co.jp/all/display.jsp?an=20030730080
12 posted on 07/30/2003 1:02:54 AM PDT by DoctorZIn (IranAzad... Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: DoctorZIn
Bush warned last week earlier that Iran and Syria would be "held accountable" if they supported terrorism.

Count on it.

13 posted on 07/30/2003 1:21:55 AM PDT by EGPWS
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To: DoctorZIn
Bush speaking on Iran in his press conference. Praised the Iranian-American community, mentioned the TV station in LA and praised their work, called Iran's leaders "totalitarian" and said they have links to Al Qaeda. Strongest statement to date on Iran from the President.
14 posted on 07/30/2003 8:24:03 AM PDT by Texas_Dawg ("...They came to hate their party and this president... They have finished by hating their country.")
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To: Texas_Dawg
Thanks for the update.
15 posted on 07/30/2003 8:54:14 AM PDT by DoctorZIn (IranAzad... Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: All
Canadian Journalist Probably Murdered

July 30, 2003
Reuters
CNN.com

TEHRAN -- Iran's Vice-President Mohammad Ali Abtahi said on Wednesday Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who died in custody in Iran, was probably murdered.

Abtahi had hinted as much two weeks ago, but since then an initial government inquiry left open whether a blow to Kazemi's skull had been deliberate or accidental.

"The high possibility is that her murder was caused by a hemorrhage caused by a blow," Abtahi told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

He said it was up to the judiciary to identify and prosecute those responsible for Kazemi's death.

The Montreal-based journalist, 54, who was of Iranian descent, died on July 10, more than two weeks after her arrest for taking pictures outside a Tehran prison.

Her death has strained diplomatic relations between Ottawa and Tehran and cast a spotlight on Iran's shadowy security services and treatment of the media.

The initial Iranian inquiry into the three days Kazemi spent under interrogation and arrest did not establish who may have caused the blow to Kazemi's skull. Further investigations are under way and five security agents have been detained.

Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mousavi-Lari told reporters the investigating judge had requested the detention of the five agents, who were in contact with Kazemi before her death.

Kazemi's mother was quoted on Wednesday as saying she had agreed to bury her daughter in Iran against her will.

In an interview with the Yas-e No newspaper, Ezzet Kazemi said she had signed a statement at the Canadian embassy agreeing to let her daughter's body to be taken to Canada, where Kazemi's son and the Canadian government had demanded its return.

Nightly visits

But, while staying with the mother of one of her daughter's friends in Tehran, she received nightly visits from people who used threats and promises to get her to change her mind, she said, without identifying them.

"Every day four or five people came and talked to the owner of the house (where I was staying) and they created problems for them and I was obliged to accept her burial in Iran," she said.

"I had no other choice. I didn't have money, I was alone and I had no other place to go...They wanted the burial to take place as soon as possible. They wanted to get rid of it (the body)," she added.

Abtahi and Mousavi-Lari declined to comment on Ezzet Kazemi's remarks about the burial. Iran had said the decision to bury Kazemi in her birthplace in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz accorded with her mother's wishes.

The decision outraged Canada which immediately recalled its ambassador to Tehran and said it would review bilateral ties with the Islamic Republic.

Kazemi said she had flown to Tehran from Shiraz, where she lives, immediately after she was informed of her daughter's arrest. She was eventually taken to see her daughter who was lying in a coma in a hospital run by the Revolutionary Guards.

Kazemi said she had noticed heavy bruising on one of her daughter's thighs and her hands. When she queried this, she was told it was due to injections her daughter had received.

"I don't know what the reason for her death was... All I want is for the killer of my daughter to suffer the same fate as my child. I want this person to be executed," she said.

Mousavi-Lari said three post-mortem examinations had stated that there were no injuries to Kazemi's body other than the skull fracture.

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/07/30/iran.canada.reut/index.html
16 posted on 07/30/2003 8:55:26 AM PDT by DoctorZIn (IranAzad... Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: All
"Deals" with Iran? A New Trap for USA?

July 29, 2003
Stratfor
Stratfor.com

US President George W. Bush reportedly has considered calling in the services of former Secretary of State James Baker in Iraq. Washington appears to be seeking Iran's help in courting Iraq's Shiite majority, which will require some tough negotiations. Baker, viewed by many to be among the top US political negotiators, likely would be used to help forge an agreement with Tehran in this regard. If a deal is made, it could catapult Iran from isolation to the position of regional hegemon.

Analysis

US President George W. Bush has considered calling in the services of former Secretary of State James Baker to help work alongside L. Paul Bremer, the administrator of Iraq -- the second major change in three months to the team overseeing reconstruction, the Washington Post reported July 26. Though unnamed administration officials said Baker might not want to the job, the White House would still look for a "Baker-like figure" to assist Bremer, sources told the newspaper.

Washington likely is seeking a senior statesman who can help to stabilize the situation in Iraq by forging a deal with Tehran. The occupation of Iraq is not going well for the United States, which faces daily attacks from a mainly Sunni resistance movement. Since neither retreat nor the use of excess force are acceptable options for dealing with the resistance, Washington is left with one alternative: Seek an alliance involving Iraq's Shiite majority to counter the guerrilla movement and to help keep Shiites' own anti-U.S. sentiment from moving toward armed resistance. But the United States cannot court Iraq's Shiites without the indulgence of Iran.

Ultimately, a U.S.-Iranian compromise concerning Iraq could leave Iran as the regional hegemon -- operating under the auspices of the United States -- and thus alter the geopolitical landscape of the Persian Gulf and/or the Middle East.

So far, the United States does not appear to be able to stamp out the armed resistance in Iraq, and the steady flow of American casualties can have negative consequences for reconstruction efforts. This -- coupled with the controversy over prewar allegations concerning Iraq's WMD and the general perception that Washington lacks a clear strategy for dealing with the Iraqi resistance -- have prompted a 17 percent drop in Bush's approval ratings, which now register at 53 percent, according to recent polls. In essence, Washington is desperately seeking a solution to the problems it faces in stabilizing Iraq as the presidential election campaign season nears.

Given the quarter-century of antagonism in Iranian-American relations, a deal between the two countries over the stabilization of Iraq might seem implausible, but in realpolitik there are no permanent enemies or friends. The United States has a long history of forging alliances with unanticipated counterparts to solve strategic problems -- including Stalin, Mao and the Afghan mujahideen during the 1980s. Given that both Iran and the United States are capable of stirring up trouble for each other, the United States will find it difficult or impossible to rebuild Iraq -- with its large Shiite majority -- without some kind of compact with Tehran.

Iran has difficulties of its own concerning its nuclear program, domestic dissent and allegations that it harbors members of al Qaeda and other militant organizations. As a result of the war against terrorism, Iran is now surrounded by US military forces, and Tehran is searching for a way out of its increasingly uncomfortable position. Iran traditionally has been wary of threats to its security from both the North and south, but it now has an unprecedented opportunity to secure its western border. If Tehran can gain a sphere of influence in Iraq, it could create a buffer zone that gives the country strategic depth and help to insulate it from potential security threats.

The challenges that both Washington and Tehran are facing have opened a window of opportunity for both: Each understands the other's dilemmas and realizes that they can help one another in the search for solutions. The United States wants to align itself with the Shiite majority of Iraq, over which Iran wields influence. Iran, on the other hand, would like to secure itself against the risk of regime change -- whether through internal forces acting at the instigation of the United States or as the result of a US attack. And -- with Iraq no longer a major power, Syria buckling under US pressure and Saudi Arabia struggling with internal and external problems -- Iran can work with the United States in order to eventually assert itself as the regional power in the Persian Gulf and/or the Middle East. The actual nature of this regional hegemonic status would, of course, be subject to the oversight of the global hegemon, the United States.

Enter James Baker.

Baker, a senior counselor at the Carlyle Group -- an influential, U.S.-based private equity firm with extensive ties to the Saudi royal family -- is quite possibly the best negotiator the United States has in its diplomatic arsenal. He has an impressive track record in international negotiations, with involvement in issues such as the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the creation of an anti-Iraq coalition in the 1991 Gulf War.

Washington would like to gain Iran's help in dismantling al Qaeda and for Tehran to refrain from developing nuclear weapons. However, the Bush administration might be willing to allow Iran to play a greater role in the political reconstruction of Iraq, in return for guarantees that U.S. interests will not be threatened. If Iran agrees to such an arrangement, it would be presented with a unique opportunity to become the regional hegemon.

Within Iran, such a deal likely would play well. Reformists would see the alliance as a move closer to the West and, therefore, as a chance for liberalization and increased trade. Devout Shiites would be see it as a way of protecting Iran from the reemergence of a Sunni Iraq and the fulfillment of Khomeini's dream. In a region where everyone is perceived as collaborating with the Americans, the Iranians at least would be seen as having attained real value from collaboration. Tehran would pay a price where the Sunni jihadists are concerned, but the agendas of the two entities don't really converge anyhow.

The greatest fear of Iran's Islamist regime is that it will be overthrown -- either by direct military intervention from the United States or by U.S.-instigated insurrection. However, a compromise with Washington concerning Iraq would secure both the Islamic revolutionary regime and the country's western flank, and would position Iran to dominate the region in the long term. Ultimately, the entire deal could be covertly struck: The United States creates a Shiite-dominated government in Iraq that cracks down on the guerrilla resistance movement; Iran covertly cooperates with the United States against al Qaeda and dials back its nuclear program. This does not require grand pronouncements, like those that characterized the US detente with China during the Nixon administration; it could be handled and contained politically.

Washington would have to alleviate any security concerns by Israel in order to strike such an agreement with Tehran, which sponsors Palestinian militant groups. Apart from that, however, the United States -- unlike Iran -- has few inherent obstacles to overcome in order to strike a deal. In our view, if Washington could forge agreement with China to diminish the threat from Communism, it likely could do the same with Islamism by aligning with Shiite Iran to counter the threat from Sunni jihadists.

This would not be easily achieved, however, given the limitations on Iran's maneuvering room: The most crucial issue for Tehran is to avoid the perception in the Muslim world that is has somersaulted from an anti-American position to a pro-American one. The fact that the vast majority of the Muslim world is Sunni also poses a problem for Tehran, which has been desperately pursuing a policy predicated upon Shia-Sunni unity. A US- Iranian understanding would trouble particularly trouble Saudi Arabia. Riyadh is loath to see a rival power emerging in the region, and the kingdom's influential Wahhabist religious establishment is equally opposed to the possibility of growing Shiite influence.

Editor's note - To view a video conference by James A. Baker,III, on the future of US Iranian relations click on the image below :

http://www.petro-hunt.com/lectures/video5.htm

http://iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news_en.pl?l=en&y=2003&m=07&d=30&a=3
17 posted on 07/30/2003 9:03:10 AM PDT by DoctorZIn (IranAzad... Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: DoctorZIn
Belgium to amend, in rush, the Genocide law

SMCCDI (Information Service)
Jul 30, 2003

The lower house of Belgium's parliament passed a government-backed bill, on Tuesday night, to amend the ''unviersal competence'' law which was a main subject of worry for the Islamic republic regime's leaders. This worry became much noticeable with the raise of public awarness about the real situation in Iran following the murder of the Canadian-Iranian Journalist and the possible future trip of Khatami to this country.

Several Iranian opposition groups were getting ready to introduce a formal complain beside the Belgian Justice in order to ask for the arrest of Mohamad Khatami who's representing a regime known for abuses and murder of opponents and journalists.

Based on the 1993 "universal competence", Belgian courts were able to accept cases on crimes against humanity, regardless of the place where they were committed and the nationality of their perpetrators and victims. That was how an invesitigation was opened, by the Belgium Justice and based on a formal complain made by an Iranian Freedom Fighter, against the powerful Hashemi Rafsanjani for "Crimes Against Humanity".

The complain forced, 2 years ago, the Hashemi daughter and gang to transfer millions of the stolen Iranian assets out of Belgium which was till then the head quarter for Hashemi gang's transaction. These transactions of all kind were coordinated in the building of the "Rafsanjan Pistachio Company" located in Brussels.

Under the amended bill, the right to file cases will be restricted to Belgians or people living in Belgium for at least three years at the time of the crime. The bill is expected to be approved by the Belgian Senate as well before the end of the week.

Earlier, today, Mohamad Khatami congratulated Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt for his re-election to office by hoping that the his regime's relations with Belgium would further deepen.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_1485.shtml
18 posted on 07/30/2003 9:11:28 AM PDT by DoctorZIn (IranAzad... Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: All
Kazemi's mother pressured into burying her in Iran

World News
Jul 30, 2003

TEHRAN - The mother of Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who died in custody in Tehran, said in an interview Wednesday she was pressured into having her daughter buried in Iran against Ottawa's wishes.

Ezzat Kazemi told the reformist paper Yas-e-No she had initially given her written consent to the Canadian embassy here for the body of her daughter to be repatriated to Canada.

"During my two week stay in Tehran in the house of one of my daughter's friends, four to five men came daily and talked to the landlord, which upset everyone, so I was forced to give my consent to have my daughter buried" in Iran, she said.

She did not elaborate on who the men were.

"As a lone woman, without money and a stranger to Tehran, where could have I gone? So I took the body and went to Shiraz," where she lives in southwest Iran and where Zahra Kazemi was buried on July 23.

The burial led Canada to recall its ambassador to Tehran for consulations.

Kazemi, 54, who was arrested on June 23 while taking photographs outside Tehran's Evin prison, died in custody of a blow to the head which Iranian authorities have yet to explain.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_1472.shtml
19 posted on 07/30/2003 9:13:11 AM PDT by DoctorZIn (IranAzad... Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: F14 Pilot
Great pics. Thanks.
20 posted on 07/30/2003 10:12:01 AM PDT by nuconvert
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