Free Republic

Top News Story Iran accused of training Iraqi bombers Wed Oct 12, 2005 6:50 AM BST LONDON (Reuters) - London has accused Iran of running training camps to teach militants how to carry out roadside bomb attacks on British troops in southern Iraq, according to newspaper reports on Wednesday.The government believes Iran's Revolutionary Guard has taught Shi'ite militia members from Iraq how to make armour-piercing devices, the Daily Mirror reported, citing an unnamed defence source."There is evidence that there are teaching camps in Iran, Lebanon and maybe Syria," the source was quoted as saying. "It means up to 10...

Two Under-reported Developments in Iran's Nuclear Programs. Iran Designs Nuke Warhead For Shihab-3 Middle East Newsline: Iran was said to have designed a nuclear warhead for the Shihab-3 intermediate-range ballistic missile. The United States has briefed several nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency of an Iranian program to develop a nuclear warhead for the Shihab-3. Diplomatic sources said the U.S. briefers asserted that from 2001 to 2003 Iran designed and developed a circular warhead that could detonate at an altitude meant to ensure optimal damage. An empty nuclear warhead was said to have been installed on the Shihab-3...

Top News Story Now we know the truth about Iran, we must actBy Con Coughlin(Filed: 09/10/2005)It was not the outcome the Foreign Office had been planning. When it was announced early last week that a senior British diplomat in Baghdad was flying back to London to give a briefing on Iraq's constitutional referendum, the general expectation in Whitehall was that the following day's headlines would focus exclusively on whether sufficient numbers of Iraqis would turn out to validate the exercise.Imagine the surprise, then, of Jack Straw and his officials the following morning when they opened their newspapers to discover...

Top News Story Iran Focus A powerful Iranian cleric told Tehran’s Friday prayers worshippers the Islamic Republic was unwavering in its nuclear venture and unafraid of international sanctions. “We mustn’t be afraid of sanctions. Even though there is a loss, it also has benefits. We should not fear the losses”, Guardian Council chief Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said. “If we have made any headway these days, it is because of these sanctions against us. Otherwise, we would be like these Arab countries, who have to import everything”, Jannati said. “If we fear sanctions then we will have to accept submission”,...

Top News Story Rooz Online Is Iran about to make concessions on human rights? Arash Motamed The judiciary directive to release imprisoned student activists, which was initially requested by the "Association for the Defense of the Rights of Prisoners" that specifically called for the release of 34 prisoners, and the judiciary’s recent emphasis on the necessity of having juries for political trials are new initiatives from the ultra-conservatives now in the driving seat in Tehran that signal more than just simple administrative changes. In less than three months since it has come to power, the administration of president Ahmadinejad,...

Top News Story Blair links Iraq bombings to row over Iran's nuclear program Ewen MacAskill, Brian WhitakerFriday October 7, 2005The Guardian Tony Blair warned yesterday he will not be diverted from the debate over Iran's nuclear programme by Tehran's suspected involvement in a series of deadly bomb attacks on British soldiers this year. Speaking at Downing Street 24 hours after a British official pointed a finger of blame at Tehran, Mr Blair said: "There are certain pieces of information that lead us back to Iran."Such attacks would not prevent Britain continuing to press for Iran to abandon its alleged...

Top News Story UK accuses Iran over killings of soldiers Ewen MacAskill and Simon Tisdall and Richard Norton-TaylorThursday October 6, 2005The Guardian Britain and Iran clashed openly last night after a senior British official directly accused Tehran of supplying Iraqi insurgents with sophisticated roadside bombs that have killed eight British soldiers and two security guards since May. The bombs, triggered when an infra-red beam is touched, have created havoc among British forces in southern Iraq. They release a projectile capable of penetrating armoured vehicles, against which the British army has virtually no defence.The British official said that Iranian interference...

Top News Story The Washington Times Army takes control of Iran nukes An Excerpt:David R. Sands, The Washington Times:Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has placed the military firmly in control of his nation's nuclear program, undercutting his government's claim that the program is intended for civilian use, according to a leading opposition group. READ MORE A Daily Briefing of Major News Stories on Iran: Dan Darling, The Weekly Standard takes a close look at Iranian Brigadier General Qassem Suleimani and the Qods (Jerusalem) Force unit under his command and his efforts in Iraq. A must read.Iran Press News reported...

Top News Story Rooz Online The "Supreme Leader" turning to Rafsanjani for help with Ahmadinejad? Rooz Online: a pro-reformist website Sharg newspaper carried this headline: “The Expediency Council is responsible for supervising the implementation of the grand policies of the three branches of government.” This is the product of an interview Sharg reporter Akbar Montakhabi had with Mohsen Rezai from the Expediency Council. The relegation of some of the authority of the Leader to the Expediency Council has been the subject of recent talks as a solution to end the current crises and impasse in the political sphere. This...

Top News Story Iranian.ws End of Islam in Iran Near? Iranian.ws: POLL - As an Iranian, If(or when) time comes to choose between 'Islam or Iran', which one will you support? Grandson of the founder of mullacracy in Iran, Seyyed Hassan Khomeini, criticized the battle between secularism and backwardness, saying the original religious movement in Iran has been endangered. He added that secularism is pursuing separation of religion from politics and some are promoting an emotional religion based on backwardness and superstitions to withstand secularism. Mullah Hassan further said both these movements would end in the separation of religion...

Top News Story Haaretz On January 20, 2005, George W. Bush outlined the goal of his second term. "It is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world," he said. "All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you." Less than a year later, the Bush doctrine is dead, the victim not...

Top News Story Rooz Online Questioning the Lack of Open Debate on Iran's Nuclear Program Ahmad Zeidabadi The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on calling Iran’s nuclear issue the “national case”. I do not understand this insistence or why is the issue a ”national” one. If those who call the issue a national one mean that its outcome will determine the destiny of the Iranian nation, which it will, what is the importance and value of this interpretation of the word “national” for its insistence? The fluctuation of the price of oil in international markets too...

Top News Story ARE ARABS ANTI-AMERICAN? An Excerpt: By AMIR TAHERI PRESIDENT Bush's "image queen," Karen Hughes, is on a tour of Arab countries, where conventional wisdom claims that anti-Americanism is second nature. Hughes, now in charge of public diplomacy at the State Department, plainly she shares that analysis — why else choose the Arab region for her maiden voyage? But how true is that claim? Are Arabs the most anti-American people on earth? READ MORE A Daily Briefing of Major News Stories on Iran: Iran Press News reported that Hadad Adel, the Director of the Parliament of the...

The United States and its allies must act to stop Iran's nuclear programs -- by force if necessary -- because conventional diplomacy will not work, three senior Israeli lawmakers from across the political spectrum warned yesterday. As a last resort, they said, Israel itself would act unilaterally to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear arms. Iran will not be deterred "by anything short of a threat of force," said Arieh Eldad, a member of Israel's right-wing National Union Party, part of a delegation of Knesset members visiting Washington this week. "They won't be stopped unless they are convinced their programs will...

Top News Story FLIGHT OF CAPITAL IS A WAKE-UP CALL FOR IRAN TO CHANGE ITS POLICIESby Amir TaheriGulf NewsSeptember 28, 2005 Here is a quiz. You have a country whose foreign exchange reserves are at the highest levels in two decades, with prospects of rising prices for its principal export while over $200 million (Dh734 million) pours into its coffers each day.Moreover, the nation's budget deficit, a persistent though occulted feature for the past eight years, has turned into a surplus, freeing the hands of the government to throw money at its more pressing problems. The logical consequence of...

Top News Story Russia in a Hurry to Sell Weapons to Iran — Paper Russia is intensifying efforts to sell weapons to Iran while such sales remain legal amid mounting pressure on the Islamic state over its controversial nuclear program, the daily Kommersant said on Monday. Moscow “has stepped up military-technological cooperation with Tehran,” the business daily said, citing an unidentified source. It said top officials within Russia’s military-industrial complex decided to concentrate on arms sales to Tehran for two reasons. “Firstly, as many weapons as possible must be sold to Iran before an international embargo against this country comes...

Top News Story Iran threatens to cut trade with nuclear critics By Parisa Hafezi TEHRAN, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Iran threatened on Tuesday to use trade to punish countries that have voted to report it to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions, after Tehran failed to convince the world its nuclear programme was peaceful. Iranian officials said they were shocked by India's backing on Saturday for a resolution passed by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog body, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). But they reassured India, which is hoping to sate its voracious appetite for energy through deals with...

Top News Story Iran threatens to halt nuclear checks as it is declared 'non-compliant'By Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor(Filed: 26/09/2005) Iran yesterday threatened to halt spot inspections of its nuclear sites in retaliation for a harshly worded resolution that brought Teheran a step closer to being reported to the United Nations Security Council for possible sanctions. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the weekend declared Iran to be in "non-compliance" with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty because of a catalogue of violations that has stoked strong suspicions that Iran is seeking to build an atomic bomb.   Defiant: Iran's...

Top News Story More than 4000 of the Iranian National Guard, Al Quds Corps and the Intelligence Ministry are in Iraq • During the past three years, Iran has been the major player in Iraq for several reasons. Everyone is speaking about the Iranian interference in Iraq and the spread of Iranian intelligence agents and the Guard elements intensively in the south, symbolically in the north and secretly in Baghdad. A) According to some documents, in addition to the statements of colonel Ismael, a leader of Al Quds Corps, who fled from Iran and Al Sharq Al Awsat has...

Mullah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani says the US and Israel are raising too much hue and cry trying to exaggerate Iran's peaceful nuclear activities solely for political purposes, irrespective of the grave consequences of their actions regionally and globally. In an interview with the Jeddah-based daily, Okaz, published on Saturday, Rafsanjani said there is a possibility of the referral of Iran's nuclear issue to the UN Security Council though "knowing the serious outcome of such a move would convince western leaders to act more prudently to avoid such a development". "The US and the 'Zionist regime' have been trying to exaggerate...