Iranian Alert -- August 18, 2003 -- LIVE THREAD PING LIST

The Iranian Student Movement Up To The Minute Reports ^ | 8.18.2003 | 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 70 threads since the protests started, go to:

[DoctorZIn]

Join Us at the Iranian Alert -- August 18, 2003 -- LIVE THREAD PING LIST

Live Thread Ping List | 8.18.2003 | DoctorZin

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

[DoctorZIn]

Islamic regime plays "ethnic problem" card for justifying Esfahan province unrest

SMCCDI (Information Service)
Aug 17, 2003

The Islamic republic regime intends to play its well known "ethnic problem" card in order to undermine the impact of the popular rebellion which has rocked, for the last 6 days, the provincial City of Semirom located in the Esfahan province.

Several of the regime officials and the Islamic republic's propaganda tools are trying to make believe to naive or friendly reporters and foreign news agencies that the unrest which took place is just due to a popular protest against an administrative decision and due to "inflamed ethnic tensions" in the Esfahan province.

Due to the lack of profesionalism or historical knowledge of some members of foreign news agencies, located in Iran, the regime is becoming partially succesful to spread such disinformation.

Iranians of every ethnicity have shown, during the last 3 years, how they use, all togheter and as Iranians, each occasion in order to create protest actions which as their slogans show are targetting the Theocratic system and its leaders. Iranians have used various occasions in order to carry such intelligent actions, such as, the Football riots, the banned Fire Fiest celebration or even the mourning ceremonies of non political actors.

The "ethnic problem" has been of a major use for the regime in order to spread the false impression of a split of Iran or a Civil War in case of its overthrown. Such demagogy has been used to calm many Iranians of Azari, Arab or Balootch origin in their legitimate aspirations as most of them are profoundly attached to Iran and have shown it at several occasions. Examples, such as, the overthrown of the so-called National Republic of Azarbaijan backed by the former USSR in 1951 or the popular defense of Iranian westen borders during the war with Iraq are among solid proves of the Iranians attachment to their country.

It's to note that small and irrelevant independentist groups have been subject of temporary attention by some officials or legislators of foreign countries, such as the US or the former "Bathist" Iraq in their counter productive policy of making pressure on the Islamic regime. But such attentions have stopped, in the case of Azarbaijan as soon as proves were shown that such policy helps the stabilization of the regime due to the above named popular feeling in the concerned region, and in the case of Iranians of Arab origin as soon as Saddam's regime was overthrown and his agents were cut off their funding and Iraq based propaganda tools.

The so-called ethnic problem of Iran is considered as even being less than similar problems existing in countries, such as, Spain, Belgium, UK, Italy, France or even the USA where we can find always a small and irrelevant minority thinking of being in better condition in case of splitting.

Even and in the case of Iranian province of Azarbaijan, the individual named as Chehregani had to resign from his old position of requesting full independance. Chehregani who's supported by Turkey and the so-called Republic of Azarbaijan (normaly known as Aran) and used as a pressure tool against the fragile Islamic republic in order to get concessions, had to state that his so-called "South Azarbaijan Council" is contenting itself with a Federal republic in Iran.

The latter carries the hopeless idea that with time his group might get more followers by forgetting how the Iranian Azaris overthrowned his spiritual father's phantom republic as soon as the soviet soldiers left Iran.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_1790.shtml

[DoctorZIn]

Islamic regime plays "ethnic problem" card for justifying Esfahan province unrest

SMCCDI (Information Service)
Aug 17, 2003

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/965824/posts?page=3#3

[F14 Pilot]

Karroubi: National unity prevents enemies from aggression

http://www.irna.ir/en/politic/030817212617.epo.shtml

[DoctorZIn]

IRAN TO TRY SENIOR AL-QA’EDA TERRORISTS SOON

TEHRAN, 17 Aug. (IPS)

Iran’s revelations that the authorities have discovered and foiled terrorist attacks by al-Qa’eda on Iranian territory is part of plans aimed at both taking off international pressures while preparing public opinion for possible trial of members of the terrorist network it says it detains, according to Iranian political analysts.

Speaking to Iranian diplomats, Hojjatoleslam Hasan Rohani, the influential Secretary of the Supreme Council for National Security (SCNS) said Saturday evening that al-Qa’eda was preparing a series of terrorist operations inside Iran, but security services had discovered and foiled them, according to "Iran" daily, a newspaper published by the official news agency IRNA.

Though this is the first time that a high-ranking Iranian official make such a revelation, but Mr. Rohani, like other officials, provided few concrete details as to when the plots were discovered, what was the nature of the planned attacks, who are the culprits and weather the operations were aimed at Iran itself or other countries?

In previous statements, Tehran had said it detains some 500 members of the terrorist network, but at the same time it rejected American, Western and Arab press reports that it is sheltering several top leaders of the al-Qa’eda, insisting that security and intelligence services had not been able to establish the identities of several terrorists it has arrested.

According to these reports, Sa’d, the elder son of Osama Ben Laden, the leader of al-Qa’eda, who has been stripped of his Saudi nationality, Soleyman Abu Gaith, the movement's spokesman, denied of his Kuwaiti nationality, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, Ben Laden’s right hand lieutenant and Saif al-Adel, the network’s new commander, both Egyptians, are in the Iranians custody.

Washington is asking the Islamic Republic to hand over these alleged terrorists and recently offered to assist the Iranians for their identification, but Iran has rejected the proposal on the ground that in the absence of any diplomatic relations between Tehran and Washington, it is not possible to extradite them to the United States.

Iranian Intelligence Minister Hojjatoleslam Ali Yunesi said three days ago that Iran could try those of al-Qa’eda members it had been unable to extradite, adding that others had been handed over to their home nations.

Jurists and experts said the new accusations against al-Qa’eda operatives would allow the authorities to try them in Iranian courts.

Diplomats say the Iranian authorities have been left in a bind, as they have been unable to extradite some of their most high-profile captives to their home countries as they have been stripped of their nationalities.

In a recent story, the usually well-informed Arab newspaper "al Sharq al Awsat", which is based in London and owned by the Saudis claimed that of fear to see the Americans bringing concrete proof of the presence of the senior terrorists in Iran, the ruling ayatollahs ordered the men to leave the country for safe places along Iran-Pakistan-Afghanistan borders.

Tehran immediately denied the information, repeating that none of the named men were in Iran.

"But the denial is itself a confirmation of the (al Sharq al Awsat) story for the simple reason that the Iranians have always insisted that they have not identified all the al-Qa’eda men they detain. If this is correct, then the question is how they know Mr. Zawaheri and company are not among the detainees" pointed out Mr. Ali Keshtgar, an Iranian political analyst and journalist based in Paris. ENDS IRAN AL QA’EDA 17803

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

[DoctorZIn]

IRAN TO TRY SENIOR AL-QA’EDA TERRORISTS SOON

TEHRAN, 17 Aug. (IPS)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/965824/posts?page=6#6

[F14 Pilot]

http://www.iranian.ws/news/publish/article_279.shtml

[F14 Pilot]

http://www.irna.ir/en/economic/index.shtml

[DoctorZIn]

Kurds Say Anti-US Extremists Moving Into Iraq From Iran

August 18, 2003
Turkish Daily News
Baku Daily

More than 1,000 al Qaeda operatives including Arabs and Afghans as well as other Middle Eastern radicals have slipped into Iraq through the rugged mountains bordering Iran in recent months adding to the terrorist threat against U.S. forces, diplomatic sources told the Turkish Daily News on Friday.

The extremists have reportedly traveled from Afghanistan to Iraq via Iran. The TDN was told dozens of such extremists have been taken into custody by the forces of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in recent weeks but still hundreds have managed to slip into Iraq through the mountain passes that have been used by Turkey's separatist Kurdish terrorists to slip in and out of northern Iraq via Iran.

The extremists reportedly travel to the pro-Saddam areas of Iraq where American soldiers are coming under daily attacks.

The diplomatic sources said it was not certain why the Iranians had turned a blind eye to the extremists transiting their country.

Meanwhile, the TDN also learnt that new militants from the extremist Islamic group Islamic Ansar have also slipped into northern Iraq into areas controlled by PUK to assassinate high level party officials led by Jalal Talabani, the president of PUK.

The Americans and PUK forces had launched a massive attack against the Islami Ansan hideouts in the mountains during the war to topple Saddam Hussien and wiped out most of their militants. This time new recruits from Iran reportedly infiltrated the PUK area. Americans forces launched an offensive against Islami Ansar in the past few days, the TDN was told.

Source: Turkish Daily News

http://www.bakutoday.net/view.php?d=5846

[DoctorZIn]

Kurds Say Anti-US Extremists Moving Into Iraq From Iran

August 18, 2003
Turkish Daily News
Baku Daily

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/965824/posts?page=10#10

[F14 Pilot]

Larijani: "Iran should resist the West on nuclear issue"

Monday, August 18, 2003 - ©2003 IranMania.com

TEHRAN, Aug 17 (AFP)--Iran should resist Western demands it sign the additional protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that would allow for unscheduled inspections of suspected nuclearsites, a leading conservative official said Sunday.

There is "no guarantee that the Americans, after the signing of the additional protocol and inspections of nuclear installations, will not invent other pretexts to accuse Iran of developing weapons of mass destruction," said Ali Larijani, the head of Iranian radio ......

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=17508&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs

[DoctorZIn]

Iran's exports to UK down by dlrs 6.547m in 1st 4 months

Tehran, Aug 18, IRNA --

Iran's non-oil exports to the United Kingdom in the first four months of the current Iranian year 1382 (started March 21) dropped by 6.547 million dollars compared to the same period of the previous year.

According to Iran Customs, over 4,083 tons of non-oil commodities valued at over 6.63 million dollars were exported to the United Kingdom in the first four months, the figure showing a hike of more than 14,975 tons compared to the figure for the same period of the previous year.

Britain currently is Iran's 4th major trading partner among
European Union members and its 5th trading partner as far as exports of non-oil commodities are concerned as shown by the figures above stated.
Carpets, floor coverings, dates, stone and mineral products,
grapes, pistachios, shrimp, leather and tanned animal skin were among the major items Iran exported to Britain.

In addition, Iran imported over 95,000 tons of commodities valued at 239.98 million dollars over the same period, the figures showing a hike in weight and a dip in value compared to the figures for the same period in the previous year.

Iran imported more than 57,000 tons of goods worth some 252.469 million dollars from the UK in the first four months of the previous year.

http://www.irna.ir/en/tnews/030818103720.etn08.shtml

[DoctorZIn]

Germany mulls inevstment in Mahabad

2003/08/16
IRIB

Mahabad, Aug 16 - Mahabad governor Seyed Ma'rouf Samadi here on Saturday said that a German economic delegation was here recently to survey the prospects of investing in various activities in this city.

He said that the seven-member delegation of representatives of different German companies and a few Iranian expatriates residing in Germany stayed for a day in Mahabad to assess the economic potentials of the city.

He further said that members of the visiting delegation were impressed by the city's potential for investment in the fields of tourism, mines, agriculture and industry.

He said the visitors found the area "positive" for investment and were likely to investment soon in various economic projects or activities in the city after a formal assessment has been released.

The city of Mahabad in West Azarbaijan province is known for its profound and appealing tourist attractions, significant mining industry, fertile farms and other potentials for investment.

It has a population of 190,000 and is located south of the province.

http://www.iribnews.com/Full_en.asp?news_id=185977&n=36

[AdmSmith]

Thanks for the economic link.

[AdmSmith]

The border between Iran and Iraq is very difficult to monitor, it has been and is porous and a heaven for smugglers. But, beware of mines.

[F14 Pilot]

Eight die in Iranian border riot

Dan De Luce, Tehran
Monday August 18, 2003
The Guardian

Eight people were killed and dozens injured in riots in central Iran on Saturday, which the state media said were caused by a dispute about a proposed new boundary which would put parts of the city of Semirom under the municipal control of a neighbouring city, Shahreza.
Last night, an interior ministry official in Isfahan said the proposal had been rescinded.

Yesterday, television showed the streets of Semirom, in Isfahan province, south of Tehran, littered with stones and broken glass.

State broadcasting organisations reported that eight people had been killed, two of them policemen. An undisclosed number of people were arrested.

The protesters pelted the governor's office with firecrackers and smashed the building's doors and windows, the Baztab website reported.

Keramatollah Ebadi, a local conservative MP aligned with the conservatives opposed to President Mohammad Khatami's reformist government, told the Guardian: "At first it was a peaceful protest,but at the end anti-revolutionary people got involved and it turned violent."

He accused the interior ministry of mismanagement.

There has been increasing tension in provincial capitals, where the interior ministry accuses conservative clergy of illegally interfering in next year's parliamentary elections.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,12858,1020782,00.html

[F14 Pilot]

Iran orders contracts for 2nd nuclear reactor

By Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN: Iran has given the nod to a larger scale nuclear programme and has ordered contracts drawn up to build a second nuclear reactor, Iran’s official news agency IRNA said on Thursday.

Despite international concerns that Tehran may be building an atomic bomb, Iran’s Supreme Nuclear Energy Council ordered contracts written up for a second 1,000 MW nuclear reactor at the southern port of Bushehr where Russia is helping Iran build its first nuclear power station, IRNA said.

The council also ordered suitable sites be studied for the construction of further reactors to generate an extra 5,000 MW from nuclear power.

Iran says it needs more nuclear power stations to satisfy a booming domestic demand for electricity. But Washington is sceptical about Iran’s reasoning and has called the nuclear programme a smokescreen for a bid to build atomic weapons.

The announcement came a day after the head of Iran’s atomic energy programme said the Islamic Republic planned to dispel international concern about its nuclear programme. The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in a June report cited a number of failures by Tehran in reporting its nuclear activities and is preparing a follow-up report to be released in September.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation chief Gholamreza Aghazadeh said on Wednesday IAEA inspectors had just concluded a number of inspections in Iran.

“All the necessary visits and sample taking was done and I believe that there is no point which the agency will find ambiguous or have any question about,” he said.

IAEA officials in the past have complained that they have been denied access to take environmental samples at some of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The international community has urged Iran to accept snap inspections of its nuclear facilities.

First plant due by 2005: News of Tehran’s approval for more reactors follows a Washington Post article this week which suggested Israel could make a lightning strike on Iranian atomic facilities.

But an Israeli intelligence source told Reuters in Jerusalem such an attack against Iran — echoing Israel’s fighter-bomber attack on Iraq’s Osiraq nuclear plant in 1981 — was unlikely.

“Should we decide to act against Iran it is more likely to be through a covert operation — industrial espionage, for example — rather than an Osiraq-style strike,” he said. Danny Yatom, former chief of Israeli intelligence service Mossad, told Israel Radio that care should be taken to distinguish any military nuclear programme from Iran’s electricity production plans.

Iran has said it wants to generate around 6,000 MW from nuclear power stations by 2020.

The first Bushehr plant, due for completion in 2004 or 2005, should produce 1,000 MW, which energy officials estimate would be enough to supply power to one million homes.

US officials question why Iran, with its abundant supplies of both oil and natural gas, needs nuclear power stations to produce its domestic electricity.

But Iran argues its finite fossil fuel supplies are more valuable as exports and contends conventional power plants cannot satisfy the soaring demand for electricity.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_16-8-2003_pg4_5

[F14 Pilot]

Asefi terms closure of NCRI offices in US "positive step"

Tehran, Aug 18, IRNA -- Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi
termed here Monday the US measure in closing down offices of terrorist
National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) as a positive step.
Speaking to foreign and domestic reporters at his weekly press
briefing, Asefi said the US action in connection with the Mujahedeen
group is in the framework of the responsibilities of Washington
government.
"This measure is a positive step which should apply to other
countries where the United States and the Mujahedeen group are present
including Iraq," he said.
The United States had recognized Mujahedeen as a terrorist group
in the past, said the spokesman, adding "It is natural that the US
adopt such a measure."
"The US should treat Mujahedeen very harshly in Iraq to complete
its measures in this respect," he said.
Asked about Iran-US relations in light of the US action on the
NCRI, Asefi said, "The condition of relations is dependent on whether
the Americans reach a new approach and consensus inside their country
to work with Iran."
"If such consensus exists in the United States and we see positive
and serious signs towards the relations, conditions inside the country
will also change," he added.
The United States on Friday shut down the offices of the terrorist
National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), after US Secretary of
State Colin Powell clarified that the terrorist People's Mujahedeen
Khalq Organization (MKO) was to be banned under all its aliases.
The order also freezes the group's US assets and bars US citizens
from making contributions to it, US officials said.
Pointing to the Zionist regime's threats against Iran's nuclear
activities, Asefi said, "We hope the Zionist regime would avoid
adventurism."
"This regime has showed that it is an adventurist regime and is
committed to no legitimate principle," he said.
"The Zionist regime will pay a heavy cost if it commits such a
mistake," the spokesman stressed.

http://www.irna.ir/en/tnews/030818133923.etn00.shtml

[F14 Pilot]

GC "no compromise" with MP over presidential powers

Sunday, August 17, 2003 - ©2003 IranMania.com

Tehran, Aug 17, IRNA -- Spokesman of the Judiciary Gholam-Hossein Elham has said that the council will reach no compromise with the Majlis over the presidential powers bill, the local press reported here on Sunday.

The Persian-language daily `Hambastegi' quoted Elham as saying that the bill brings the authorities of the three branches of the government under the control of the president, stressing that this is against the Constitution.

"The bill authorizes the president to reject any issue that he considers as ....

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=17503&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs