Iranian Alert -- August 5, 2003 -- LIVE THREAD PING LIST

The Iranian Student Movement Up To The Minute Reports ^ | 8.5.2003 | DoctorZin

[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

[DoctorZIn]

To find all the links to all 57 threads since the protests started, go to:

[DoctorZIn]

Join Us at the Iranian Alert -- August 5, 2003 -- LIVE THREAD PING LIST

Live Thread Ping List | 8.5.2003 | DoctorZin

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[DoctorZIn]

UN seeks snap Iran inspections

BBC 8.5.2003

Talks on inspections without notice of Iran's nuclear facilities have begun in Tehran.
A team of legal experts from the UN's nuclear watchdog is seeking to persuade it to drop opposition to such visits.

Iran said in the past it would only agree to them if it was granted more access to nuclear technology.

Washington believes Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian programme based on Russian technology.

Lawyers from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sat down to talks with counterparts from Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation.

"For a country like Iran that has declared a large nuclear programme, it's very important that the inspectors are on the ground to be able to verify fully the nature of that programme," said the IAEA's Lothar Weedekind.

Iran said the final decision on accepting snap visits - the so-called additional protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) - would rest with the Islamic Republic's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

International pressure

The IAEA team was set to explain to the Iranian authorities exactly how the additional protocol works.

It "gives us greater authority in inspection and also access to information and the use of what are called verification technologies", said Mr Weedekind.

The talks follow a visit in July by the IAEA's Director General, Mohammed ElBaradei, who had talks with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami.

Tehran asked for the new visit after coming under increasing pressure from the European Union, Russia and the US to satisfy concerns about its nuclear ambitions.

Last month, EU foreign ministers warned that relations with Iran would be reviewed if Tehran refused to co-operate with the IAEA and sign up to closer inspections.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is to generate electricity and is for peaceful purposes only.

'National interests'

Iranian politicians are divided over whether to allow more intrusive inspections and are facing a dilemma over how to respond to international pressure, says the BBC's Miranda Eeles in Tehran.

Iran's representative at the IAEA last month urged his country's leaders to sign up to the additional protocol.

Some politicians, however, have called on Tehran not to give in, arguing it would be better to pull out of the NPT altogether.

"The decision about joining the additional protocol will be taken based on national interests," said Iranian Government spokesman Abdollah Ramazanzadeh.

The issue, he said, would be sent to the government for discussion, then decided by the Supreme National Security Council with final approval resting with Ayatollah Khamenei.

A second UN team is also expected this month for the last round of inspections before the release of an IAEA report on Iran's nuclear facilities in September.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3122347.stm

[DoctorZIn]

UN seeks snap Iran inspections
BBC 8.5.2003

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/958313/posts?page=3#3

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

[NetValue]

You are overwhelming me. All I want is the latest piece of news. I am convinced Iran needs to be the next target of US wrath - way more than Iraq ever was. As President Bush's plan actually unfolds, Iraq will become the launch point for us to the disarm Iran...the terrorist devil of the world.

[F14 Pilot]

Two female detainees in journalist's death case freed

Tehran, Aug 5, IRNA -- Two women suspects, detained in connection
with the death of Iranian journalist Zahra Kazemi have been released
after posting surety, a Tehran tribunal said in a statement Monday.
The two unidentified women, who guarded Kazemi during her stay in
jail, were released on the order of Tehran criminal court's
interrogator in the case, the revolutionary tribunal said.
The two suspects were among five people who were arrested last
month on the order of the public and revolutionary courts in
connection with the death case.
The statement said that the interrogations from the remaining
suspects were continuing.
Last month, the case was referred to the criminal court here for
investigation after Tehran public and revolutionary courts as well as
military court refused to handle it on the ground that it was outside
their jurisdiction.
The 54-year-old journalist died here because of fractured skull.
An ad hoc committee, formed on President Mohammad Khatami's order,
has said that Kazemi died after her skull was fractured either
'because a hard object hit her head or her head hit a hard object'.
The journalist, working for Canadian Camera Press journal, was
arrested last month while illegally taking pictures from Evin prison
in Tehran and whisked away to Information Ministry, where she felt
unwell and was taken to hospital.
Several days later, she was pronounced dead from brain hemorrhage.
On Monday, Government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh hoped that
"the results of the investigation by the judiciary and the probable
ruling issued will serve in such a way that the general conscience of
the society feels at rest".
The official vowed that the government would do its best to bring
the cause of the death to light, irrespective of whether any probable
establishment, found guilty in the case, was affiliated to the
government or other powers.
The journalist's death triggered a spat between Iranian and
Canadian governments after Tehran rejected Ottawa's demand that her
body be transferred to Canada.
Ottawa recalled its ambassador Philip MacKinnon, followed by Iran
summoning Canadian charge d'affaires here, Gilles Poirier, in
connection with the death of an Iranian national which was blamed on
Canadian police in Vancouver.
Canadian police recently attacked three Iranian nationals in
Vancouver, killing Keyvan Tabesh and injuring Amir Aqaie. The attack
was met by a news blackout in Canada.

http://www.irna.ir/en/head/030805001235.ehe.shtml

[F14 Pilot]

http://www.canoe.com/CNEWS/World/2003/08/04/153484-ap.html

TEHRAN (AP) - Two guards detained in the death of a Canadian photojournalist in custody here last month have been freed on bail, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported Monday.
The two women, who were guarding Zahra Kazemi while in custody, were released on bail following the completion of investigations," IRNA quoted a judici.............>

[F14 Pilot]

ISLAM IS AGAINST WOMEN’S RIGHTS

TEHRAN 4 Aug. (IPS) Islam, in at least 90 points, is against granting women normal and equal conditions with men and removing discriminations against them, according to senior Iranian clerics.

Denouncing sharply the reformists-dominated Majles for having approved a bill authorising the Iranian government to join the International Convention for Fighting all Forms of Discriminations Against Women, Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi said by doing so, the Majles "has proved what we knew, that it was acting against Islam".

"By approving the scandalous Convention, the deputies have insulted the sources of imitation", Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi told a gathering of orthodox students and clerics controlled by the conservatives, hoping that those who have voted the bill would take it back.

The subject has created a new tension between the ruling conservatives and the reformers, already in confrontation over several issues, including the crackdown on students, journalists and dissidents, the death of the Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi at the hands of Iranian security services and government bills aiming at curtailing the abusive powers of the Council of the Guardians.

Joining other senior clerics on the payroll of Ayatollah Ali Khameneh’i, the leader of the Islamic Republic, Mr. Mesbah-Yazdi, nicknamed "Temsah (crocodile)-Yazdi" for his hawkish positions against reforms and reformists, urged the Council of the Guardians to reject the motion.

The leader-controlled Council has the duty to check that laws passed by the Majles are in strict conformity with the Shari’a, or Islamic laws, as well as vetting all candidates for any elections.

"This Convention is a product of the imperialism aimed at imposing Western corrupt culture on that of Islam", continued Ayatollah Noori Hamedani, another orthodox cleric, speaking for worshippers in the city of Qom, the "cradle" of Shi’a militantism.

Mr. Hamedani strongly criticised the minority fraction of the Majles for its silence, describing the Convention as a "plot" by the west to undermine Islam.

"This (Majles’ approval of joining the Convention) is a betrayal against Islam, the Revolution and our women who, hopefully, are awakened to enemies’ plots", he added, as hundred of paid theological students marched in the streets, chanting slogans against the lawmakers, Israel, the United States and Britain.

In an editorial, the daily "Jomhoori Eslami" (Islamic Republic) that belongs to Mr. Khameneh’i said on Sunday that bets are that by approving the motion authorizing the government to sign the Convention, reformists lawmakers wants to portrait themselves as defenders of women’s rights and the conservatives as against.

"Accepting the terms of the Convention of Fighting all Forms of Discriminations Against Women means ignoring laws of Islam concerning women, her social status, obligations towards men, religion, dress, rights with husband and other social issues", the paper noted.

Other hard liners like Mr. Habibollah Asgar Auladi, the General Secretary of the League of Islamic Associations said what the Convention brings for women is much less than what Islam guarantee them in regard of their rights.

But experts on Islam said the faith effectively considers women to be inferior to men and as far as the clerics are concerned, they divide the mankind in two unequal categories of women and men, a situation that is fought by the Convention, they pointed out.

"If the Convention is applied in Iran, many of the present Islam-based laws against women must be removed, giving them equal rights with men in cases of marriages, divorces, travels, guards of the children and many other issues", observed Dr Nayyereh Tohidi during an interview with the Prague-based Radio Farda.

http://www.iran-press-service.com

[dandelion]

Bumpity!

[dixiechick2000]

Good posts! Thank you!

Good morning to you both!

[F14 Pilot]

Operation Iranian Freedom

In Washington, the hawks and vultures are beginning to gaze at Iran with greed-filled eyes. The British attack dog is barking and straining at the leash. And the Israeli ambassador to the United States has helpfully suggested that the onward march of the American Empire should not be brought to a premature halt in Baghdad. Teheran beckons, and then there is always Damascus. The only argument summoned by the blood-mottled "doves........

More at:>
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml%3Fi=20030818&s=ali

[DoctorZIn]

Two Demonstrators Found Guilty of "War on God"

August 05, 2003
AFP
IranMania

TEHRAN -- Two people arrested during recent demonstrations in Shiraz, southern Iran, have been found guilty of "warring against God", which carries heavy penalties including death, a press report said Tuesday.

The conservative daily Abrar quoted local judiciary head Hossein Ali Amiri as disclosing the verdict of the court but not the sentence.

A lawyer told AFP that under the Islamic republic's laws, "warring against God" is punishable by death, amputation or exile.

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=17334&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs

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

[DoctorZIn]

Sporadic clashes rock several areas of southern Tehran

SMCCDI (Information Service)
Aug 5, 2003

Sporadic and violent clashes rocked, earlier today, several areas of the Iranian Capital on the commemorative day of the anniversary of the 1906 Constitutional Revolution.

Clashes and protest actions took place in Rey, Eslam Shahr and Azadegan beltway where residents retalaited to the brutal intervention of the regime forces by throwing stones and incendiary devices and setting tires and barricades on fire.

Several security patrols were destoyed with Molotov Cocktails thrown by masked demonstartors.

Several demonstrators and security forces were injured in these clashes and tens of other arrested.

The biggest part of the commemorative actions will take place, later this evening and as the darkness of night will fall on Iran.

Many young freedom lovers used their detonation devices in order to celebrate the 97th anniversary of the 1906 revolution from the late hours of yesterday night.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_1582.shtml

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

[DoctorZIn]

Celebrators injured in Esfahan

SMCCDI (Information Service)
Aug 5, 2003

Several celebrators circulating on motocycles were injured, in the afternoon, in the rebellious City of Esfahan.

The clash happened as the regime's patrols tried to intercept the group of young freedom fighters using speakerphones to broadcast the banned Iranian National Anthem and to shout slogans against the regime and its leaders.

Several of them were injured as the regime's patrol car hit them in the Tchahr Bagh area.

More actions will take place, later this evening, and the city is in a very tense situation following the events that have taken place for the last two years.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_1583.shtml

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

[DoctorZIn]

The Islamic Regime Poses Serious Threat

August 05, 2003
The Denver Post
Editorial

Iran is on the verge of becoming a nuclear power, a prospect that could threaten world peace by destabilizing the already volatile Middle East and Persian Gulf regions. Iran also may have medium-range missiles capable of hitting Israel, Turkey and parts of Europe. The Bush administration, unfortunately, has few options for dealing with the situation.

To understand how close the nightmare is to reality, it helps to put recent news accounts in perspective. To do so, it's useful to know a little about how nuclear bombs work.

In simple terms, Iran needs to solve two technical problems to make its atomic bombs work.

One is to develop highly enriched uranium, an element that can be made to fission, or be flung apart at the atomic level. Unlike Iraq, which would have had to buy or steal the prized uranium, Iran could become self-sufficient in enriched uranium. It has vast natural deposits of uranium ore, so it needn't buy the basic materials from abroad. It also has constructed facilities that turn uranium into enriched uranium. Among them are the hundreds of centrifuges that international weapons inspectors discovered this spring about 200 miles south of Teheran.

The second crucial technical challenge is making plutonium, an element that doesn't exist in nature but can be created inside some types of nuclear reactors. Iran is building exactly the kinds of nuclear reactors that make plutonium - a major worry for the Bush administration. If Iran's goal was just to produce electricity, as it claims, it wouldn't need these sorts of reactors.

All Iran needs now is a little more know-how and machinery, and the sponsor of international terrorism will possess the ultimate political and diplomatic sledgehammer.

The conundrum for the Bush administration is how to stop Iran from taking these final steps. Unlike Iraq, Iran isn't burdened by a bevy of United Nations resolutions, so the Bush administration must build a case against Iran's weapons program almost from scratch.

U.S. military action would entail more serious risks than war in Iraq. For example, Iran has a formidable military, including a submarine fleet. Worse, if Iran is closer to building nuclear weapons than experts believe, a military confrontation could have unthinkable consequences.

The United States needs international help in curbing the Iranian threat. Since the prospect of a nuclear Iran would unsettle the global security calculus, the United States may find numerous allies in this matter.

Russia is largely responsible for getting Iran to this worrisome point because Moscow for years sold Teheran important machinery - and perhaps supplied scientists and technicians as well. This summer, though, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed concern about Iran's nuclear program. While belated, Putin's public worry is welcome. Even Moscow, it seems, doesn't want a radical regime across its backyard fence to become a nuclear menace.

In addition, it was the International Atomic Energy Agency that reported that Iran possesses the centrifuges - which are forbidden by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that Iran signed years ago. The IAEA didn't declare Iran in violation of the treaty, as the Bush administration wanted it to do. Still, the IAEA report all but invited the U.N. Security Council to act. The Security Council should do so.

Meanwhile, the United States should encourage political factions in Iran that want to replace the current repressive, corrupt regime with a more open, tolerant government. Hardliners may use any bullying by the Bush administration to shore up support for the tottering Teheran regime. So, U.S. support for political change must be quiet and largely behind the scenes.

Neither move removes the problem. But together, they represent ways for the United States and the United Nations to start solving the dangerous puzzle.

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~417~1551681,00.html

[DoctorZIn]

The Islamic Regime Poses Serious Threat

August 05, 2003
The Denver Post
Editorial

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/958313/posts?page=15#15

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[DoctorZIn]

Clemency Urged for Iran Students

August 05, 2003
BBC News
BBCi

Iran's supreme leader has said students involved in anti-government protests earlier this year should be treated with clemency.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was responding to a recommendation from two of his officials who deal with university affairs.

As many as 4,000 people were arrested in demonstrations centred on universities in June and July.

Ayatollah Khamenei's representatives urged him to show "Islamic compassion" to students who "have made it clear that they have not been part of any conspiracy".

They said some of the students became involved in protests out of "curiosity, because a dormitory was attacked, or because they had some demands as students", the Iranian Students News Agency reported.

Prosecutor General Ayatollah Abdolnabi Namazi said 40% of those arrested in the late June protests were freed immediately.

Parliament agreed in late June that the intelligence ministry would deal with the students who had been detained and that those facing charges would have open trials.

Four reformist legislators had held a sit-in demonstration at parliament to protest against the detention of the students.

Clashes

The protests began on 10 June and led to severe clashes between students and vigilantes loyal to Ayatollah Khamenei.

In the capital Tehran - the focus of the unrest - 800 people were arrested.

They include Abdullah Momeni and Mahdi Aminzadeh, leaders of the biggest student organisation, the Unity Consolidation Office.

As well as criticising the conservative clerics, demonstrators also attacked the reformist President, Mohammad Khatami, who was accused of betraying hopes for change.

More than 100 student activists wrote an open letter to the president asking him to intervene to stop what they called "the policy of repression" which, they said, his continued presence in office would legitimise.

The students, who supported the reform movement and helped vote in Mr Khatami and the reformist majority of the parliament, have warned that they will be alienated from the system if their plight is ignored.

The Iranian protests attracted much support from liberal circles in Iran - as well as from US President George W Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

But reformist members of the Iranian establishment joined the conservatives in strongly condemning the US and UK support for the demonstrations.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3125393.stm

[DoctorZIn]

Clemency Urged for Iran Students

August 05, 2003
BBC News
BBCi

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/958313/posts?page=17#17

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[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The Mullahs use every excuse in the book!

Bush Doctrine Unfolds :

To find all articles tagged or indexed using Bush Doctrine Unfold , click below:
	click here >>>	Bush Doctrine Unfold	<<< click here
(To view all FR Bump Lists, click here)

[DoctorZIn]

Security sources: Iran has financed most attacks since truce

By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Last Update: 05/08/2003 22:25

Most terror attacks carried out since the cease-fire agreement between the Palestinian Authority and militant factions was signed in June were organized by Fatah members, who received orders and financing from Iran, security officials said Tuesday.

According to security sources, the militant organizations are also trying to send representatives abroad through the Rafah crossing in the Gaza Strip, which borders the Israel-Egypt frontier.

The armed militants who receive orders from Iran are members of local cells belonging to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades, associated with PA Chairman Yasser Arafat's Fatah party, but they do not necessarily adhere to orders from the party's political leadership, and are more dependent on
money and orders coming from Iran and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah organization, which is based in Lebanon.

Since the hudna agreement was signed on June 29, the Israeli security establishment has uncovered several attempts to transfer information on weapons from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank. Hamas and Islamic Jihad are also
expecting large-scale deliveries of weapons smuggled through tunnels across the border with Egypt, the sources said.

Since the truce was declared, there have been 178 terror attacks in the territories, 118 of which were shooting attacks. The IDF and the Shin Bet security service have arrested 75 terrorists, and the Shin Bet says that 36
large-scale terror attacks have been foiled.

Three Israelis and one Bulgarian national have died in terror attacks since the agreement was signed.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/325909.html