Iranian Alert -- September 15, 2003 -- IRAN LIVE THREAD PING LIST

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.

ElBaradei Wants Fast Closure on Iran Nuclear Plans

September 15, 2003
Reuters
Reuters.com

VIENNA -- After Iran's weekend warning it may quit the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog urged Tehran on Monday to come clean about its nuclear programme as soon as possible instead.

"It is essential and urgent that all outstanding issues -- particularly those involving highly-enriched uranium -- be brought to a closure as soon as possible," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei told a conference of delegates from all 136 IAEA member states.

The IAEA's recent discovery of bomb-grade uranium in Iran fuelled fears Tehran has been secretly purifying uranium for use in an atomic weapon. Iran rejected this charge, blaming the IAEA finding on contaminated components purchased abroad.

ElBaradei, in the written text of his speech, was echoing an IAEA governing board resolution adopted on Friday, which gave Iran until October 31 to enable U.N. inspectors to verify that Tehran has no secret nuclear weapons programme or face possible U.N. Security Council sanctions.

Over the weekend, Iran indicated that it might go so far as to follow North Korea's lead and leave the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to protest the U.S.-backed resolution.

Tehran softened the tone of its rhetoric on Sunday, saying it would continue cooperating with the IAEA, though it would re-evaluate its relationship with the agency.

Washington, which labelled Iran a member of an axis of evil with North Korea and pre-war Iraq, lobbied hard to get Friday's toughly worded resolution passed.

The United States says Iran's nuclear programme is a front for developing an atomic bomb, a charge Iran vehemently denies.

http://www.reuters.com/locales/newsArticle.jsp?type=topNews&locale=en_IN&storyID=3443006

Israeli-Indian Deal Threatens Iran's National Security

September 15, 2003
Arab News
Hassan Tahsin

Relations between Israel and India are solid, having developed over 42 years through secret communications the last ten of which have seen an increase in military, intelligence and commercial cooperation up to USD 1.6 billion.

Consequently Sharon’s visit to New Delhi several days ago at an extremely critical time for the Middle East was not an ordinary one. The United States’ presence in the region under the pretext of the war on terror has created great problems for several countries in the region, notably Iran which the US considers part of the axis of evil.

Sharon’s visit to India, though seemingly intended to reaffirm the mutual struggle of the two countries against extremist Islam, is in reality a dangerous attempt to encircle the Middle East, flowing from American desires on the one hand and Jewish-Hindu sectarian interests against Islam and Muslims on the other. The official spokesman for Sharon confirmed this in a statement in the New Delhi. “Our contact with India represents an affirmation of our trilateral relationship. We are linked to the US in the global war on terror.” Thus he in effect classified Islam as the wellspring of terror and Muslims the principal elements of terrorism in the world.

Israeli-Indian dealings in the military field have already reached $2 billion and during this visit, a new $1billion military contract was concluded for the purchase of early radar warning systems and Falcon radar systems that enable India to place most of Pakistan’s airspace under close surveillance. This begs the question — Is this deal a purely commercial act on the part of Israel or is it a cover for certain political and economic demands that serve the trilateral alliance? Close scrutiny of the development of Indian-Israeli relations confirms that political and military interests are at the forefront of the relationship and that Israel stands to gain strategic benefits as a result of providing India with advanced military technology. India doubtless has a stake in this deal namely keeping Pakistan under surveillance. India, previously regarded as part of the Soviet alliance, also wants to consolidate its relations with Washington. As for Israel it is planning something for the region that merely wants to abort any peace initiative that resolves the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Not too long ago Israel requested 100 long range F-16 planes from the US which Congress immediately agreed to — even though Israel already possesses planes that are capable of reaching any Arab capital, so why the long-range planes? Quite simply this kind of plane is capable of taking off from any Israeli airbase and bombing Iran’s nuclear reactor as well as the Shehab missile manufacturing sites which are advanced Iranian missiles capable of reaching Eastern Europe (and by the same token, Israel). At the same time, the planes need a safe base on the return journey to refuel if needed and the closest would be an airbase in India.

In return for providing India with advanced military technology and further promises of providing them with an anti-missile defense system in a soon to be agreed $2.5billion deal, India must open its airbases for Israeli planes if needed in the near future. Now that Washington has occupied Iraq it wants to terminate Iran’s nuclear program using Israel so that it won’t be blamed by its Western allies who reject the use of force in dealing with such sensitive matters. There is doubtless much danger in store for the Middle East; nevertheless we must take into consideration Iran’s reaction which will be quite different from Iraq’s. Israel’s recklessness could result in a regional war that draws in a number of nations and could conceivably turn into a global confrontation.

http://www4.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=31992&d=15&m=9&y=2003

US Energy Secy Welcomes Iran's Decision On IAEA Ties

September 15, 2003
Dow Jones Newswires
The Associated Press

VIENNA -- U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham Monday welcomed Iran's decision to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"I hope it represents a decision to fully comply (with the IAEA)," he told reporters , describing Iran's statement as a "more hopeful comment" than previous threats out of Tehran.

Abraham is heading the U.S. delegation to the IAEA's general assembly.

Iran backed away Monday from following the example of North Korea and cutting the outside world off from scrutinizing its nuclear programs but accused the U.S. of strong-arming other nations into setting a deadline to bare its atomic secrets.

Over the past weeks, Iran had suggested that it might sever its ties with the IAEA if pressured too hard to increase access to its nuclear programs.

Those threats increased after the agency's board of governors passed a U.S.-backed resolution Friday setting an October deadline for Iran to essentially disprove it is running a covert nuclear weapons program. The board will decide in November on whether Iran has met that demand. If it rules Tehran in violation of the treaty banning the spread of nuclear weapons it will ask the U.N. Security Council to get involved.

Iranian Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh accused "partisan politics in the United States" of being behind the "heavy-handed" resolution accepted by the board but said his country remains "fully committed" to preventing the proliferation of nuclear arms.

"Our cooperation with the agency ... shall continue as before," Aghazadeh told the general assembly. He also said Iran would start "negotiations with the agency about the additional protocol," that would allow the IAEA thorough and unfettered inspections of all of its nuclear activities.

During negotiations that led to passage of a resolution setting the October deadline by the IAEA board, Iran had suggested that it would scrap plans to accept that protocol.

Although Aghazadeh's statements eased immediate concerns that Iran would cut ties with the IAEA and draw the curtain on its nuclear program, the Iranian vice president suggested his country still could turn more hardline. He said a final response was still being discussed by his government.

"We are studying the resolution carefully and will respond to it officially in a few days," he told delegates to the 135-nation conference.

The onus was on Iran to prove the world wrong, Abraham said because "all of the pattern of action and conduct we've seen is totally understandable," only in the context of a weapons program.

If unchecked, Iran could go the way of North Korea, which used its IAEA membership to gain access to nuclear technology only to quit the Nonproliferation Treaty and declare it was making atomic arms, he said.

"One cannot let that precedent be repeated," Abraham added.

The agency, the nuclear watchdog of the U.N., seeks to ensure compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which aims to ban the spread of nuclear weapons. It monitors the status of nuclear materials in dozens of countries and promotes the peaceful use of nuclear technology.

Other delegation heads and IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei urged Iran to heed the resolution and called on North Korea to scrap such its existing arms program.

"It is essential and urgent that all outstanding issues ... be brought to closure as soon as possible, to enable the agency to provide the required assurances," that Iran is not running a secret weapons program, said ElBaradei.

North Korea is now negotiating with the U.S. and four other countries on aid and other concessions it seeks in return for scrapping its nuclear weapons program.

ElBaradei said the country poses "a serious and immediate challenge to the nuclear nonproliferation regime." He said he hoped for an agreement at those talks that would allow his agency to play a key role in monitoring North Korea's nuclear activities.

Touching on North Korea and Iran , U.S. President George W. Bush, in a message to the conference read by Abraham, urged vigilance against states "trying to acquire nuclear weapons."

Abraham told delegates attempts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons were challenged by "a few rogue states seeking the capacity to attain weapons of mass destruction." Indirectly linking North Korea and Iran , he urged IAEA member states to "take firm and necessary action" to stop new nuclear weapons states from emerging.

Japan's government minister, Hiroyuki Hosoda, warned that his country would "not accept" North Korean attempts to build nuclear weapons and urged Iran to fulfill its obligations by the October deadline.

Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Roberto Antonione, speaking on behalf of the European Union, and its future members urged Iran "to take all the necessary steps to ensure full transparency of this nuclear program and restore the confidence of the international community."

He called on North Korea to "dismantle its nuclear weapons program ... and meet the requirements of the Non-Proliferation Treaty."

IAEA Web site: http://www.iaea.org/worldatom

http://iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news.pl?l=en&y=2003&m=09&d=15&a=7

Iran Media Watch: Battling Britain

By MOJDEH SIONIT

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Iran's previously correct, if not cordial relations with Britain have taken a hammering in recent weeks following the detention of a former prominent Iranian diplomat there, and the Iranian media has reflected the outcry, and the increasing sense of isolation, that has followed from it.

The arrest in Britain of former Iranian ambassador to Argentina, Hadi Soleimanpour, in connection with the bombing nearly a decade ago of the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aries caused a severe reaction from the Iranian government and media. On Aug. 25, the hard-line daily newspaper Ressalat wrote: "Britain should apologize to Iran because of the arrest."

The newspaper Ettelaat tried to put a more cautious, even optimistic face on the event, claiming in a commentary that a British Embassy official in Tehran had told foreign reporters that Soleimanpour's arrest had no political motivation and that it had been Argentina's order to arrest him.

Following the tumult over Soleimanpour's detention, Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency reported Sept. 3 a shooting incident at the British Embassy in Tehran at midday local time. IRNA reported: "The incident came after Britain denied that there were any plans to recall its ambassador to Tehran following Iranian Ambassador Morteza Sarmadi returning for "consultations" over the arrest of former Iranian ambassador to Argentina Hadi Soleimanpour."

The shooting incident did not cause any injuries, but it has made Tehran-London relations more complicated. The Embassy was closed until further notice. But IRNA reported a British Foreign Office spokesman in London as saying this was just "temporarily." The spokesman also told IRNA that Britain's Ambassador to Tehran Richard Dalton had been in contact with the Iranian Foreign Ministry about the incident.

IRNA also cited British news reports that Iran was considering downgrading bilateral relations by expelling Dalton from Tehran.

Ettelaat on Sept. 3 reported that Iran's ambassador to Britain, Morteza Sarmadi, has returned to Tehran, but the paper claimed this had nothing to do with the deterioration of Anglo-Iranian relations. Ettelaat quoted an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying: "Mr. Sarmadi has returned to Iran for some consultations."

Meanwhile, Iranian officials continue to emphasize their good relations with the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Authority. IRNA on Sept. 1 quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi as confirming that Iran had allowed IAEA inspectors to take samples at its nuclear sites.

Asefi described this act as a" major development" and announced that Iran's readiness to sign the additional protocol to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty was a sign of Iran's "good will," IRNA reported Sept. 1.

However, also on Sept. 1, the daily Keyhan, a voice for Iranian hardliners, called for Iran's withdrawal from NPT. Firing a warning shot at the relatively moderate pragmatists around President Mohammed Khatami, the paper argued, "Signing the additional protocol will bring obstacles for Iranian nuclear program aimed at applying nuclear energy for civilian purposes."

Keyhan also argued that signing the protocol would be detrimental to Iran's national interest. European Union Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Javier Solana "told the press conference in Tehran that there will be bad news for Iran if it refuses to sign the additional protocol; but, we say that signing the protocol will be the 'worst'", the paper said.

(Mojdeh Sionit is a former Iranian journalist now resident in the United States.)

http://interestalert.com/brand/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/0915000aaaa070ea.upi&Sys=siteia&Fid=WORLDNEW&Type=News&Filter=World%20News

MP Ashamed of the Treatment of Political Prisoners in Iran

September 15, 2003
BBC News
Sadeq Saba

A large group of senior Iranian MPs and liberal activists have begun a hunger strike in Tehran in protest at what they describe as the harsh treatment of political prisoners in Iran.

The activists say their aim is to highlight the plight of these prisoners in Iranian jails.

In their statement, the Iranian MPs said they had decided to go on hunger strike to protest at the violation of the basic rights of political prisoners in Iran.

They said prisoners were being kept under harsh conditions without access to basic facilities and with very limited visiting rights for relatives.

Unprecedented action

The MPs include the leadership of Iran's largest pro-reform party, the Participation Front, and the chairman of parliament's national security committee.

Dozens of liberal figures and former ministers have also joined the protest.

This is the first time that a group of senior MPs have gone on hunger strike to support political prisoners. One deputy said he was ashamed of the treatment of political prisoners in Iranian jails.

They particularly want to highlight the plight of a prominent political activist, Abbas Abdi, who has been in detention for more than 10 months for publishing an opinion poll suggesting that the Iranian people favoured better relations with the United States.

International human rights groups believe that there are scores of political prisoners in Iran and they have repeatedly condemned the violation of the prisoners' rights in the country.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3110318.stm

Iran's Nuclear Debacle in Vienna

September 15, 2003
DEBKAfile
DEBKA-Net-Weekly

Teheran’s confidence in its ability to press on with its prohibited nuclear weapons program while blowing hot and cold on international threats was rudely shattered last week. Against all its expectations, a tough US-backed ultimatum was tabled and carried by the International Atomic Energy Agency board in Vienna on Friday, September 12. Iran was given until October 31 to stump up with full details of its nuclear activities program and prove it was not engaged in covert weapons production.

If this deadline is not met, the screw will turn again: The IAEA will pronounce Iran in violation of its obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, opening the door to a UN Security Council debate in December 2003 or January 2004 and economic sanctions, one of which will prohibit UN members from purchasing oil and energy products from Iran, a measure that would bring havoc to Iran’s limping economy.

At one stroke, Iran’s options were reduced to two:

1- Knuckle under to the ultimatum and open up its nuclear site to full, unannounced international inspections. This would be tantamount to halting the enrichment of uranium for the manufacture of a bomb, a surrender the Islamic clerical regime might not survive.

2- Defy the ultimatum by emulating North Korea’s tactics of confronting every international threat with an escalation, such as testing missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads or staging nuclear tests. The price for this defiance will be steep, punishing sanctions that will further cripple an economy already hobbled by roaring unemployment that in some places reaches 50 percent.

DEBKAfile’s Persian Gulf sources reveal that Tehran was stunned when Moscow and New Delhi lined up behind the tough US measure at the IAEA board meeting. Multibillion deals for the construction of Iran’s nuclear reactor at Bushehr and other technology transfers net Russia invaluable revenues, while India’s close trade and military exchanges with Iran are worth some $2.5 bn per annum. Tehran had counted on the two powers dragging their feet or toning down a US measure - not supporting it. In fact, both feigned sympathy for the Iranian position until the final vote, when they switched sides.

DEBKAfile reveals that Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon played an active role in the diplomacy leading up to the American diplomatic coup in Vienna. He made discreet telephone calls to Russian president Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin and placed it on the agenda of his talks with Indian prime minister Atali Bihar Vajpayee when they met in New Delhi last Tuesday, September 9.

In its last issue of September 12, DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s Tehran sources revealed that prior to the Vienna meeting, Iran’s radical spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his top advisers had carefully plotted a deception-by-procrastination strategy in anticipation of a much milder IAEA resolution. They decided to offer to start talks on signing the Additional Protocol that permit snap international inspections of its nuclear sites and so meet a longstanding demand. Their plan was to drag out these talks month after month in order to buy time enough to move their nuclear weapons program forward before the axe descended.

Tehran would meanwhile demand to be rewarded for its “flexibility” by IAEA approval for technology transfers to be made for its “peaceful” nuclear energy projects. Eventually, the Additional Protocol would get signed. But that wouldn’t be the end of it. A bevy of Iranian bureaucratic and elected institutions, such as the all-powerful, Khamenei-ruled Council of Guardians, would have to ratify the signature before it took effect – after due deliberation in each of them. Then, Khamenei would lay down his last trump card, declaring that only he as spiritual ruler was qualified to grant final approval for a paramount national issue.

By these tricks and stratagems, Iranian rulers expected to win time to manufacture a “primitive” nuclear bomb. They also believed the Americans would be too distracted by crises in Iraq and elsewhere to keep an eye on their clandestine activities and would therefore leave them free to spring Iran’s Muslim Shiite nuclear bomb on the world.

To find out how much time he had, Khamenei demanded to know how long before the national nuclear weapons program reached its point of no return, namely one stage before the assembly of a nuclear bomb. Summoned to his office were the 37 top nuclear experts heading the different projects at Natanz, Arak, Esfahan and Kashan, together with Iran’s atomic energy commission director, Gholam-reza Aghazadeh.

They told him that the testing of the centrifuges in Natanz should be completed in months and uranium enrichment can begin as soon as December 2003. An enrichment level of 70 percent or more would then be just months away, enabling Iran to build a “primitive” bomb similar to the one Tehran believes North Korea possesses.

Before the US-backed ultimatum was slapped down last Friday, the clerics of Tehran had banked on being treated by Washington with the same diplomatic caution as Pyongyang. They believed they could run rings around the Americans with time on their side. Last Friday, the tables were turned. America grabbed the time factor and confronted the Islamic Republic with a resounding diplomatic debacle.

http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=566

Iran to Cooperate With Nuclear Watchdog

Monday September 15, 2003 6:59 PM
By GEORGE JAHN
Associated Press Writer

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran backed away Monday from following North Korea's lead to cut off the outside world from scrutinizing its nuclear program, but also accused U.S. officials of strong-arming other nations into setting a deadline to bare its atomic secrets.

In recent weeks, Iran had suggested it might sever its ties with the International Atomic Energy Agency if pressured too hard to increase access to its nuclear programs.

Those threats increased after the IAEA's board of governors passed a U.S.-backed resolution Friday, setting an October deadline for Iran to essentially disprove it is running a covert nuclear weapons program. The board will decide in November on whether Iran has complied.

If it rules Tehran in violation of the treaty banning the spread of nuclear weapons, it will ask the U.N. Security Council to get involved.

Iranian Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh accused ``partisan politics in the United States'' of being behind the ``heavy-handed'' resolution accepted by the board, but he said his country remains ``fully committed'' to preventing the proliferation of nuclear arms.

``Our cooperation with the agency ... shall continue as before,'' Aghazadeh told the IAEA's general assembly. He also said Iran would start ``negotiations with the agency about the additional protocol,'' that would allow the IAEA thorough and unfettered inspections of all of its nuclear activities.

During negotiations that led to passage of a resolution setting the October deadline, Iran had suggested it would scrap plans to accept that protocol.

Although Aghazadeh's statements eased immediate concerns that Iran would cut ties with the agency and draw the curtain on its nuclear program, the Iranian vice president suggested his country still could take hard line. He said a final response was still being discussed by his government.

``We are studying the resolution carefully and will respond to it officially in a few days,'' he told delegates to the 135-nation conference.

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, heading Washington's delegation, welcomed Iran's decision - at least for now.

``I hope it represents a decision to fully comply'' with the resolution, he said, describing Iran's statement as a ``more hopeful comment'' than its previous threats.

The onus was on Iran to prove the world wrong, he suggested, because ``all of the pattern of action and conduct we've seen is totally understandable'' only in the context of a weapons program.

If unchecked, Iran could go the way of North Korea, which used its IAEA membership to gain access to technology, only to quit the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and declare it was making atomic arms, he said.

``One cannot let that precedent be repeated,'' Abraham said.

The agency, the nuclear watchdog of the United Nations, seeks to ensure compliance with the treaty, which aims to ban the spread of nuclear weapons. It monitors the status of nuclear materials in dozens of countries and promotes the peaceful use of nuclear technology.

Other delegation heads and IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei urged Iran to heed the resolution and called on North Korea to scrap its existing arms program.

``It is essential and urgent that all outstanding issues ... be brought to closure as soon as possible, to enable the agency to provide the required assurances,'' that Iran is not running a secret weapons program, said ElBaradei.

North Korea is negotiating with the United States and four other countries on aid and other concessions it seeks in return for scrapping its nuclear weapons program.

ElBaradei said North Korea poses ``a serious and immediate challenge to the nuclear nonproliferation regime.'' He said he hoped for an agreement at those talks that would allow his agency to play a key role in monitoring North Korea's nuclear activities.

In a message to the conference, President Bush urged vigilance against states ``trying to acquire nuclear weapons.''

Abraham told delegates that attempts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons were challenged by ``a few rogue states seeking the capacity to attain weapons of mass destruction.'' Indirectly linking North Korea and Iran, he urged IAEA member states to ``take firm and necessary action'' to stop new nuclear states from emerging.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3150606,00.html

IRAN IS DETERMINED TO DEVELOP NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY: MOHAMMAD KHATAMI

TEHRAN, 15 Sept. (IPS)

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami reiterated Monday his country’s determination to acquire nuclear technology aimed at strengthening Iran’s military power.

"We don’t want nuclear arms, no, no, no, this is against our policy and our faith, but we want to be strong and being strong means to have technology and nuclear technology is the most advanced, one that we would master thanks to the intelligence and the will of our children", the embattled President said, speaking to officers of the Revolutionary Guards.

However, he refrained from making any direct comment concerning the latest resolution adopted on 12 September by the Board of Governors of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that called on the Islamic Republic to adhere "immediately and unconditionally" to the additional Protocols of the Non Proliferation Treaty.

The resolution, formulated by Canada, Japan and Australia and adopted without vote was described by many Iranian political analysts as a "humiliating" defeat for the ruling ayatollahs, prompting Iranian media to urge the government of expelling the ambassadors of the three nations that initiated the Resolution, getting out of the NPT and "revising" Tehran’s relations with all the nations that supported the controversial resolution.

Mr. Hoseyn Shari’atmadari, a high-ranking officer of Iranian secret services specialising in interrogating political and intellectual dissidents appointed as Chief Editor of the evening daily "Keyhan" by Ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i, the leader of the Islamic Republic warned the authorities if they fail to boot out Canadian, Australian and Japanese top envoys from Iran, "the Muslim people of Iran would do it themselves".

But Iran’s atomic energy Chief Qolamreza Aqazadeh said Iran would proceed with its obligations with the Agency about the Additional Protocol.

"Tehran is fully committed to its NPT responsibilities, "not because of its contractual obligation, but also because of its religious and ethical considerations", he added.

As for the conditions sat by IAEA for Iran to fulfil clauses of the Protocols, Aqazadeh said Iran needed "few days" to study the Resolution before to officially respond to it, according to the official Iranian news agency IRNA.

"We have serious problems with this resolution. From its inconsistency with the NPT to its deadline for cooperation and its venomous language are all problematic. These are our preliminary views on this resolution. We are studying the resolution carefully and will officially respond to it in a few days", he said.

According to Iranian analysts, this shows that the Iranian clerical leadership is divided on how to respond to the Resolution.

"In the 25 years the ayatollahs are ruling Iran, they have never been in such an awkward and difficult position", commented Mr. Sadeq Saba, the senior BBC commentator on Iranian affairs.

"Now, Iran has to accept the Resolution or to follow the example of North Korea", he pointed out, adding that in this case, Tehran might face tough sanctions from the UN’s Security Council.

In an article on Saturday, the daily "Jomhoori Eslami" (Islamic Republic" that belongs to Mr. Khameneh'i actually suggested this solution, saying that "one must accept that North Korean dealing with IAEA and NPT is the correct one".

The Stalinist regime of Pyongyang expelled last December all IAEA’s experts and left the NPT altogether.

Mr Aqazadeh assured that Tehran would continue cooperation with the IAEA within the framework of the comprehensive safeguards will continue as before, but stressed that being a signatory to the NPT, "Iran’s right to the peaceful nuclear technology must also be accepted as an established and recognized fact".

"We are here with the message of willingness to find ways and means that would salvage the process and maintain the issue within the framework of the relevant international body, under the direction of the IAEA director general, taking into account the interpretations put forth by the majority of the Board member on the content of the resolution", said Aghazadeh, who is also a vice-president.

According to the official, Tehran would "surely" have had achieved the desired results of full transparency and confidence, but the Resolution "will certainly not help the process forward and is thus seen as "counter productive".

"The resolution goes beyond the words and spirit of the NPT and the IAEA Statutes, even beyond the provisions of the Additional Protocol, which we are still in the process of negotiating it", Mr. Aqazadeh argued, adding that the Iranian delegation could not have associated itself with
such a resolution which was "pushed to a decision through resorting to false attributions to the Secretariat, arms twisting at many capitals, and stone walling the views and amendments of not only 15 members of the NAM, but also those of others including some of the co-sponsors themselves.

Minutes before the Resolution was accepted, the Iranian delegation, led by Mr. Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran’s ambassador at the IAEA had left the meeting in protest, accusing the United States, France, Germany and Britain of masterminding the "illegal and illegitimate" decision.

"We reject in the strongest terms this resolution," chief Iranian delegate Ali Akbar Salehi said in a statement. "Unfortunately the sponsors of the draft reacted in total disregard for principles of multilateralism and did not entertain our amendments."

"This is unilateralism at its worst, that is to say, extreme unilateralism posed under a multilateralist cloak. We believe there is more to this resolution that meets the eye at the first glance. There is an agenda behind it that is conceived in escalating tension and chaos to divert attention from serious issues that deal with partial politics in the United States", Mr. Aqazadeh went on, adding that in Tehran`s view, such a heavy-handed approach to get a resolution casts considerable doubt on the validity, utility, and above all, the practicality of such a resolution"

He added that Iran’s planned nuclear development program to generate 7000 MW of electricity with secured fuel is "factored" in consideration of strengthening the Safeguards, through joining the Additional Protocol or otherwise, so as to encourage the international community to give a serious impetus to others in the Middle East to respond positively to Iran`s initiative for establishing the Middle East as a nuclear-weapon free zone.

"We firmly believe that the NPT is the cornerstone of the international efforts to achieve complete nuclear disarmament and to halt vertical and horizontal proliferation of this horrible weapon", Mr. Aqazadeh said, adding: "Now the essential question is posed as to which country takes the responsibility and the blame of providing Israel with nuclear weapons and thus overlooking its NPT obligations on non-proliferation?"

In his speech to the ayatollahs' Praetorian Guard’s officers and reported by the independent Iranian Students News Agency "ISNA", the powerless Hojjatoleslam Khatami also emphasised on Iran’s efforts and wishes for a Middle East – and the world – free of all mass destruction weapons.

Aqazadeh repeated that Iran’s nuclear projects have only "peaceful and civilian purposes", above all meeting the country’s increasing need in electricity.

But Washington and Tel Aviv suspects that the nuclear-powered electricity station that is under construction with the help of Russia is a "cover" for building an atomic bomb aimed primarily at the Jewish State that Iran ayatollahs want to destroy.

For its part, the 15-25 members European Union came closer to the United States after it was disclosed that Iran had secretly created sites for enriching uranium, a process needed for making atomic weapons.

In his last trip to Tehran, Mr. Xavier Solana, the EU’s Spanish Minister for Security and Foreign Affairs bluntly warned Iran that refusing to go ahead with the protocols would mean "very bad news". ENDS IAEA IRAN 15903

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

Iranian Daily: 'Extremist Jews Plotting to Assassinate Chirac,' Mossad Agents Behind Najaf Blast

The September 1, 2003 edition of the Tehran Times released two articles - one stating that extremist Jews are plotting to assassinate French President Jacques Chirac, and the other implicating Israeli agents for the blast in Najaf on Friday. The following are excerpts from the articles:

'Jews Plot to Assassinate Chirac'

"A group of extremist Jews through establishing firm connections with the rightist groups in France try to convince them to agree with a plot to assassinate French President Jacques Chirac. The Al-Quds Al-Arabi daily reported that hardline Jews are plotting to assassinate Chirac because of his support for Islam and Arabs.

"The French security system has warned against the plot, it said. The plot is entering its operational stages, it said. A number of Israeli and Russian Jews are trying to assassinate Chirac to create insecurity in France, it added.

"The extremist Jews are in close connection with the rightist Christians in France. Recently Chirac escaped an attempt on his life when a rightist Christian shot at him, it said. Chirac's security has been beefed up. In close connection with the neo-Nazi organizations, the extremist Jews have planned to attack the Muslim mosques to create disorder in the country.

"About 700,000 Jews live in France, most of whom are in Paris. Muslims in France are about nine million, that is, nine times that of the Jews…" [1]

'Mossad Agents in Najaf Blast'

"An Iraqi analyst said traces of Mossad agents were found at the Najaf blast site where Ayatollah Seyed Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Assembly for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SAIRI), and more than 80 others were martyred on Friday. The analyst, who requested anonymity, told the Mehr News Agency that Zionist intelligence agents have made great efforts to infiltrate Iraqi groups in order to thwart efforts to create national unity.

"After Saddam Hussein was ousted, the Zionist regime took advantage of a lack of cooperation among the Iraqi Shia and sent a large number of extremist Jews and Mossad agents to Iraq, with the help of the occupying forces, to infiltrate Islamic groups and obtain information, the analyst said. "He added that a few months ago, a Mossad agent who knew Arabic and was quite familiar with Iraqi Muslim groups made a great effort to infiltrate organizations in southern Iraq and even influenced these groups. According to some reports… members of the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) have helped Zionist operatives in this mission…" [2]

[1] Tehran Times (Iran), September 1, 2003, http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=9/1/03&Cat=2&Num=009.

[2] Tehran Times (Iran), September 1, 2003, http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=9/1/03&Cat=2&Num=006.

http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD56303

Mystery over Iranian Embassy Visits

[Ali Dizaei was one of the highest ranking ethnic minority officers in Scotland Yard. -- DoctorZin]

Scotsman - By Shenai Raif, PA News
Sep 15, 2003

Mystery still surrounds allegations that Ali Dizaei was working for the Iranian secret service.

He was spotted going into the Iranian Embassy in London on six occasions and was thought to have “an unhealthy relationship” with the Iranian security service.

Despite defence submissions that his visits to the embassy were routine, the prosecution refused to reveal information on grounds of national security.

Only the judge and prosecution were allowed to see the undisclosed material at a pre-trial hearing.

Police conceded that nothing of a criminal nature had been uncovered.

But Michael Mansfield QC, defending, protested that Dizaei could not clear his name unless he was aware of what was being said about him.

Mr Mansfield said: “The suggestion actually is that he remains a threat to national security.

“If he is a threat to national security, why has he not been charged. The answer appears to be: ‘We cannot tell you’.”

He said the defence did not accept there was a threat to national security.

The judge heard that “fresh information” had come to light after police investigations into Dizaei’s Iranian links which had started when a woman made allegations.

She had claimed Dizaei seemed to know a lot about her husband, who was in jail in Iran and who, she hinted, had links with the British intelligence services.

She asked if Dizaei could be working with the Iranian secret police.

Chief police investigator Detective Chief Superintendent Barry Norman, of Scotland Yard’s Directorate of Professional Standards, said he was unable to answer when he was asked if there was any intelligence that Dizaei worked for the Iranian security services.

Dizaei was born in Iran, where his father was deputy head of police in Tehran, and his grandfather had also been a high ranking officer.

He has dual British and Iranian citizenship.

The court was told that of 30 original allegations which were investigated, only two had resulted in proceedings.

About 12 possible disciplinary matters remained.

Claims found to be groundless included allegations that Dizaei was a recreational user of cocaine, that he used steroids, and that he associated with prostitutes.

Mr Mansfield said Dizaei was investigated for alleged association with a “famous five” of suspected criminals – and nothing was substantiated.

Richard Horwell, prosecuting, said the £1.85 million police investigation was justified because of the range and seriousness of the allegations involved.

These had included allegations of threats to a former girlfriend, that Dizaei bullied a Pc to drop an investigation involving one of his friends, and that he accepted money from two sisters in return for helping them with their application to stay in the UK.

Dizaei, said Mr Horwell, was also alleged to have been indiscreet by telling friends information which was not yet public.

He was recorded in telephone conversations talking about the birth of the Prime Minister’s son and about a proposed visit by the President of Russia.

Dizaei had also agreed to speak in the United States for an organisation run by a man who was associating with others suspected of advance-fee fraud, Mr Horwell told the court.

The man had also tried to deposit £2 million into a bank in suspicious circumstances. He left after being questioned about the sum.

Mr Horwell also alleged that on one occasion Dizaei had accepted seven free tickets – each worth £250 – to a function he was in charge of policing.

One of the most serious allegations was that Dizaei took £800 from a man who was n bail after apparently providing the man with a defence for drink-driving, Mr Horwell said.

The man later claimed the payment was not for help.

But Chief Superintendent Norman told the court during legal argument that he found it “extraordinary behaviour”.

Mr Norman said Dizaei’s behaviour had justified the investigation into his honesty.

He said: “There were numerous conversations on file in circumstances where he could show his integrity and he failed to do so.”

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_2353.shtml

Iran's fears are real

Leader
Tuesday September 16, 2003
The Guardian

In the rush to condemn Iran for secretly seeking to acquire a nuclear weapons capability, few have paused to wonder why, if that is indeed what they are doing, Tehran's rulers should feel it necessary to pursue such a course. The answer is surely not to be found in any grandiose scheme for Persian domination of the Gulf and the wider, Arab Middle East; or, specifically, in some dastardly plot to effect control of the oil wealth of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. There certainly are nations who in recent history have espoused such madcap ideas. But they are mostly located in the west.
Nor is there any good reason to believe that post-Khomeini Iran is still exporting its Islamic revolution and thinks nuclear power status would assist it in what George Bush, from a different perspective, calls regional transformation. Iran remains a devoutly observant Islamic republic. But its overriding priorities are domestic these days, in particular how most effectively to develop the nation's economy (including its energy sector) to provide for a predominantly youthful, restless population. Iran's Shia mullahs certainly have no interest in promoting al-Qaida's type of Sunni fundamentalism. That is why they helped the US suppress the Taliban in Afghanistan. That is why US linking of Iran to anti-American attacks in central Iraq's "Sunni triangle" is disingenuous or just plain ignorant.

Yet Iran does have one deeply persuasive reason for acquiring nuclear arms: national security. Its position appears increasingly vulnerable. Look one way and there stands a hostile, nuclear-armed Israel; look another, and there stands nuclear-armed Sunni Muslim Pakistan. Almost all around, in Iraq, in Afghanistan and in its expanding Gulf, central Asian and Black Sea bases, stands the awesome military might of America. Barely a week goes by without US officials making threatening noises towards Iran, decrying its alleged support of international terrorism, encouraging internal civil insurrection, or reminding it that like Iraq, the US deems it to be a "rogue state".

Yesterday's Iranian assurance that it remains fully committed to the non-proliferation treaty (NPT) and may collaborate with short-notice UN inspections is responsible behaviour from which the US could learn. The Bush administration's ham-fisted, provocative policies, deeply hypocritical in terms of its own nuclear arms and its neglected NPT disarmament obligations, make proliferation more, not less likely, not only in Iran but also in states like North Korea. Given Iraq's fate, what confidence can Iran have that any level of UN inspection will satisfy the US? Or that Washington will ever soften its overtly hostile stance? Faced by this escalating US pressure, it would be regrettable but quite understandable if Iran were to decide that nuclear bombs were essential to protect itself. Perhaps it has already done so.

As in Iraq, the Bush administration is turning worrying possibilities into dangerously self-fulfilling prophecies. And despite misgivings in Whitehall, not to mention the country as a whole, Tony Blair is again backing Mr Bush. Who says people learn from their mistakes?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,12858,1042837,00.html

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