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Iranian Alert - October 16, 2004 [EST]- IRAN LIVE THREAD - "Americans for Regime Change in Iran"
Regime Change Iran ^ | 10.16.2004 | DoctorZin

Posted on 10/15/2004 10:15:32 PM PDT by DoctorZIn

The US media still largely ignores news regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran. As Tony Snow of the Fox News Network has put it, “this is probably the most under-reported news story of the year.” As a result, most American’s are unaware that the Islamic Republic of Iran is NOT supported by the masses of Iranians today. Modern Iranians are among the most pro-American in the Middle East. In fact they were one of the first countries to have spontaneous candlelight vigils after the 911 tragedy (see photo).

There is a popular revolt against the Iranian regime brewing in Iran today. I began these daily threads June 10th 2003. On that date Iranians once again began taking to the streets to express their desire for a regime change. Today in Iran, most want to replace the regime with a secular democracy.

The regime is working hard to keep the news about the protest movement in Iran from being reported. Unfortunately, the regime has successfully prohibited western news reporters from covering the demonstrations. The voices of discontent within Iran are sometime murdered, more often imprisoned. Still the people continue to take to the streets to demonstrate against the regime.

In support of this revolt, Iranians in America have been broadcasting news stories by satellite into Iran. This 21st century news link has greatly encouraged these protests. The regime has been attempting to jam the signals, and locate the satellite dishes. Still the people violate the law and listen to these broadcasts. Iranians also use the Internet and the regime attempts to block their access to news against the regime. In spite of this, many Iranians inside of Iran read these posts daily to keep informed of the events in their own country.

This daily thread contains nearly all of the English news reports on Iran. It is thorough. 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. The news stories and commentary will from time to time include material from the regime itself. But if you read the post you will discover for yourself, the real story of what is occurring in Iran and its effects on the war on terror.

I am not of Iranian heritage. I am an American committed to supporting the efforts of those in Iran seeking to replace their government with a secular democracy. I am in contact with leaders of the Iranian community here in the United States and in Iran itself.

If you read the daily posts you will gain a better understanding of the US war on terrorism, the Middle East and why we need to support a change of regime in Iran. Feel free to ask your questions and post news stories you discover in the weeks to come.

If all goes well Iran will be free soon and I am convinced become a major ally in the war on terrorism. The regime will fall. Iran will be free. It is just a matter of time.

DoctorZin



TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: armyofmahdi; ayatollah; cleric; humanrights; iaea; insurgency; iran; iranianalert; iranquake; iraq; islamicrepublic; jayshalmahdi; journalist; kazemi; khamenei; khatami; khatemi; lsadr; moqtadaalsadr; mullahs; persecution; persia; persian; politicalprisoners; protests; rafsanjani; revolutionaryguard; rumsfeld; satellitetelephones; shiite; southasia; southwestasia; studentmovement; studentprotest; terrorism; terrorists; wot
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Join Us At Today's Iranian Alert Thread – The Most Underreported Story Of The Year!

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

1 posted on 10/15/2004 10:15:36 PM PDT by DoctorZIn
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To: Pan_Yans Wife; fat city; freedom44; Tamsey; Grampa Dave; PhiKapMom; McGavin999; Hinoki Cypress; ...
Join Us At Today's Iranian Alert Thread – The Most Underreported Story Of The Year!


2 posted on 10/15/2004 10:18:01 PM PDT by DoctorZIn (Until they are Free, "We shall all be Iranians!")
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To: DoctorZIn

Kerry Taking Campaign Contributions From Pro-Iranian Group

By Jeff Gannon
Talon News
October 15, 2004

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- The chairman of a pro-Iranian democracy group is charging that the campaign of Sen. John Kerry has been accepting political contributions from a lobbying group promoting the agenda of the mullah rulers of Iran. Aryo Pirouznia, leader of the Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iraq (SMCCDI) says that backers of the regime in Tehran are channeling hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Kerry campaign.

During a press conference in Washington on Thursday, Pirouznia identified several individuals who have close ties to the Democratic presidential candidate. The most prominent of them is Hassan Nemazee, a New York investment banker and a member of the board of the American-Iranian Council (AIC). A chief goal of the lobbying group is the removal of U.S. sanctions against Iran.

Once nominated by President Bill Clinton to be U.S. ambassador to Argentina, Nemazee has raised more than $100,000 for Kerry. Nemazee withdrew his name from consideration following allegations of improper business dealings.

On March 19, 2004, Nemazee was listed as a vice chairman by the Kerry campaign, and on June 18, 2004, CBS News reported that Nemazee was part a group that raised more than $500,000.

Other key Kerry fundraisers with similar ties include Susan Akbarpour, a recent immigrant from Iran whom the campaign lists as raising between $50,000 and $100,000 and her husband, Faraj Aelaei, a telecommunications executive raising the same amount.

Iran has been alternately threatening to develop nuclear weapons and insisting that it needs uranium for energy production. During the first presidential debate, Kerry suggested that he would provide nuclear fuel to Iran.

Kerry was critical of President George W. Bush, who called Iran a member of the "Axis of Evil" along with North Korea and Iraq when it was controlled by the regime of Saddam Hussein. Kerry lamented that the U.S. passed up an opportunity to join the Great Britain, France, and Germany in engaging Iran.

Kerry said, "I think the United States should have offered the opportunity to provide the nuclear fuel, test them, see whether or not they were actually looking for it for peaceful purposes."

The Democrat's web site reiterates the "global test" he proposes for the mullah government. Kerry's plan is to "call their bluff by organizing a group of states to offer Iran the nuclear fuel they need for peaceful purposes and take back the spent fuel so they cannot divert it to build a weapon. If Iran does not accept this offer, their true motivations will be clear."

In one of his public statements about Iran, Kerry said, "I will be prepared early on to explore areas of mutual interest with Iran, just as I was prepared to normalize relations with Vietnam a decade ago."

Following Kerry's advocacy on behalf of the communist government of Vietnam, Hanoi awarded a contract to Boston real estate firm Colliers International. At the time, the senator's cousin Stuart Forbes was head of the company.

The Kerry campaign won't comment on the individuals in question.

3 posted on 10/15/2004 10:18:37 PM PDT by DoctorZIn (Until they are Free, "We shall all be Iranians!")
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To: DoctorZIn

Europeans to Offer Iran Last Chance to End Nuclear Weapons Effort

David Gollust

State Department
15 Oct 2004, 22:43 UTC

Listen to David Gollust's report (RealAudio)
Gollust report - Download 462k (RealVideo)
 
Key European allies told the United States Friday they will offer Iran a package of inducements next week in an effort to persuade Tehran to end its drive for nuclear weapons. U.S. officials say if the bid fails, the matter will go to the U.N. Security Council.

The United States will not offer Iran any incentives itself. But it will not stand in the way of having Britain, Germany and France approach Iran with an inducement package next week aimed at defusing the long-running crisis over what U.S. officials say is a covert Iranian drive for nuclear weapons.

The issue was discussed behind closed doors here at a meeting of senior officials of the G-8 leading industrialized countries. Diplomats from both the United States and Europe described the meeting as useful.

State Department spokesman Tom Casey said participants reaffirmed the statement by G-8 leaders at their Sea Island, Georgia summit in June that the Iranian nuclear issue needs to be resolved with Tehran in full compliance with Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations and nuclear safeguards agreements.

He said while the United States holds to its view that Iran can no longer be allowed to remain in defiance of International Atomic Energy Agency resolutions, and that the matter must be referred to the U.N. Security Council, it also gave its assent to the European mission to Iran as a last-chance opportunity to comply before the IAEA governing board meets in November:

"The United States listened carefully to the EU three's explanation of their approach, and the EU three agreed to inform us of the results of their effort," he said. "The United States noted that the IAEA board of governors had spoken unanimously to Iran in five successive resolutions of the board of governors, and had set the November meeting of the board as a deadline. Iran should take this opportunity to comply with those resolutions now."

U.S. diplomats said the European offer to Iran is basically a compilation of benefits, including a comprehensive trade deal with the European Union, that Iran has foregone because of its defiance of the international community on the nuclear issue.

It's understood also that the package includes an offer by Russia to provide Iran with nuclear fuel for the power plant it is building at Bushehr on the Persian Gulf, provided that Iran returns spent fuel to Russia and ends it own uranium-enrichment efforts.

The diplomats say if Iran rejects the deal, the G-8 countries have agreed that the IAEA board, when it meets in Vienna November 25th, should sent the Iranian case to the U.N. Security Council, which could impose economic sanctions against Iran.

Iran insists that its nuclear program is entirely for the peaceful generation of electricity, and it also says it has a legitimate right to develop an entire fuel cycle for its power plants, including the enrichment of domestically-mined uranium.

Iran has threatened to bar international nuclear inspectors from its territory if the matter goes to the Security Council.

U.S. officials contend the issue should go to the Security Council regardless of any new promises Iran might make, because of its past record of deception with regard to its nuclear activities.

4 posted on 10/15/2004 10:19:00 PM PDT by DoctorZIn (Until they are Free, "We shall all be Iranians!")
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To: DoctorZIn

IRAN NOW AT A CRUCIAL CROSS ROADS OVER NUCLEAR AMBITIONS

By Safa Haeri
Posted Friday, October 15, 2004

TEHRAN, 15 Oct. (IPS) As the group of eight most industrialised powers gathered in Washington on Friday 15 October 2004 to decide on a possible united stand concerning Iran’s nuclear ambitions, some hard line officials rejected before hand the latest “carrot and stick” proposal put forward by the European Union.

The strongest warning to both the G-8 came from Mr. Ala’eddin Broujerdi, the Head of the National Security and Foreign Affairs Committee of the conservatives-dominated Majles, or parliament reiterating that Tehran might stop future inspections by international nuclear experts in case Iran’s dossier at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is referred to the United Nations Security Council.

The strongest warning to both the G-8 came from Mr. Ala’eddin Broujerdi reiterating that Tehran might stop future inspections by international nuclear experts in case Iran’s dossier at the IAEA is referred to the United Nations Security Council.

Speaking during a press conference in Moscow, Mr. Broujerdi also repeated that if the international community increases pressures on Iran aimed at stopping its uranium enriching activities, the Majles would refuse ratifying the Additional Protocol to the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) allowing IAEA’s inspectors unrestricted access to all Iranian nuclear-related sites and projects.

The agreement, that also included suspension of uranium enriching was signed by Hojjatoleslam Hasan Rohani, the influential Secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council on National Security (SCNS) signed the Protocol on 20 October last year with foreign affairs ministers of Britain, France and Germany, known as the European Union’s “Big 3” who, in turn, pledged to help Tehran access to advanced nuclear technologies for non military purposes and closing Iran’s file with the Vienna-based IAEA.

The terms of the Agreement soon became the subject of unending controversies between Tehran with both the IAEA and the Big 3 in the one hand and the Trio with the United States on the other as nuclear inspectors found out that not only Tehran had not respected its engagements, but had also introduced more and new centrifuges for treating uranium.

Iran accused the trio of breach of agreement and observed that suspension does not mean stopping and also the measure was “voluntarily and unilaterally aimed at building confidence”.

For its part, Washington that pushes for a firmer stand against Iran, including treats of economic sanctions at the Security Council’s level, criticised the so-called Big 3 on the Tehran Agreement, pointing correctly to the use of the word “suspension” instead of “stop”.

In their last meeting that ended on 18 September, the 35 members of the Agency’s Board of Directors gave Iran until the end of November this year to prove it has ceased all activities related to uranium enrichment, including reprocessing uranium and building centrifuges used to enrich it, underlining that if not, they would sent the affair to the UN’s Security Council for decision, that would include economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Tehran immediately rejected the Resolution. Hard line newspapers, mot of them mouthpieces of Ayatollah Ali Khameneh’i, the regime’s orthodox Muslim leader, called on the government of the powerless President Mohammad Khatami to get out of the NPT, as did North Korea and lawmakers said they would refuse approving the Protocol.

At the same time, officials in charge of the negotiations with IAEA and the EU’s Trio while expressing their displeasure at the latest resolution said they would continue cooperation with the IAEA, provided Iran’s “legitimate rights’ of access to nuclear technologies are recognised.

No treaties require Iran to stop enriching uranium and use nuclear technology for civilian uses and Tehran has said it has no intention of halting its work, which it has allowed the IAEA to monitor.

To diffuse a situation that looks more and more going straight to a dead end, the foreign affairs ministers of the 25 members European Union on 12 October came out with a new dish, offering Tehran a melange of carrots and hard bones (sticks) that also pleased somehow the Americans palate: Supplying fuel for Iran’s nuclear-powered electricity plants and the possibility of investing in the country’s future such stations as well as America’s scrapping some of its economic sanctions that cripples Iran’s poor economy, like giving the possibility of buying passenger planes from Boeing and modern technologies for oil industry.

Diplomatic sources said the Washington meeting of officials from United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, France, Germany and Britain plus Russia

aims at send a signal to Tehran that the international community is seriously concerned about the Islamic republic obtaining nuclear weapons.

John Bolton, the State Department's Under Secretary for Arms control and International Security, and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage are quoted to have said that Washington is open to proposals regarding Iran, but that the matter must be referred to the Security Council unless Tehran comes forward quickly to resolve international concerns.

Sources said Washington is not likely to seek a more open dialogue with Tehran on the matter until after the November 2 presidential election here, rather than risk a political storm as voters head to the polls.

The United States is "open to all ideas" to prevent Iran from developing nuclear arms, Armitage said Wednesday in Tokyo, warning that Washington is prepared to press for punishment if Tehran does not act.

"We hold the view that Iran needs to be brought to account, and we would like to move to the U.N. Security Council after the November board of governors meeting, but we're open to all ideas that people have", he told newsmen.

The G 8 is meeting as Russia announced that is has completed the first phase of the US Dollars 800 million electricity project it is building on the Persian Gulf port of Booshehr and that an accord has been reached with Iran over the repatriation of the spent fuel, assuring the international community that the technology would not be turned for military uses, as Washington and Israel insists that the Boohehr deal could help Tehran build nuclear weapons.

The G 8 is meeting as Russia announced that is has completed the first phase of the US Dollars 800 million electricity project it is building on the Persian Gulf port of Booshehr.

"All the external (construction) work has been finished and the main equipment shipped", Vitaly Nasonov, spokesman for Russia's Federal Atomic Energy Agency, told The Associated Press, adding that Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev is scheduled to travel to Iran next month to sign agreements on shipping nuclear fuel to Iran and returning the spent fuel back to Russia.

International nuclear experts have expressed doubts the agreement will be signed before the United Nations resolves foreign concerns over Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program.

Both Democrats and Republicans increasingly believe that Iran will be the next big foreign policy flash point -- and that action may prove necessary soon after the U.S. presidential election next month, no matter who wins, the Washington Post said on Friday.

The Bush Administration has agreed to look at trio’s last plan for Iran. "Iran is definitely the next big issue. It's the number one issue that any administration, be it Kerry or Bush, will have to face immediately because of the intelligence assessment that predicts Iran could have the know-how and capability as early as the summer of 2005", the Post quoted a senior State Department official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive diplomacy.

"That's a disputed intelligence claim," the official said. "But any capability in the hands of a rogue nation with a long record of supporting terror and a clear interest in challenging the U.S. and Israel makes that the clearest threat facing U.S. interests in the next administration", the official added.

The new initiative emerged from talks on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly last month between G-8 foreign ministers and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. The G-8 ministers outlined a two-step proposal with a deadline pegged to the next meeting of the IAEA, in Vienna on Nov. 25, U.S. and European officials said.

Given that Britain, France and Germany did not win Iran's compliance, European members of the G-8 are seeking a broader front. That would take away Iran's ability to play one country off another and undermine Tehran's contention that the three nations were operating under U.S. pressure, U.S. officials said, according to the Washington Post.

The Washington meeting of the G-8
aims at sending a signal to Tehran that the international community is seriously concerned about the Islamic republic obtaining nuclear weapons

"We want to make clear to Iran that it has to comply immediately, and everyone agrees we should go to the Security Council [if it does not]. If they do, we might start talking about what we might be able to offer -- in comprehensive ways, not just economic", said a European envoy who has seen the proposal.

The plan has some support within the State Department, but the Bush administration is not eager to put its name on an offer that could help Iran avoid censure by the Security Council. While it has continually suggested that the council needs to discuss Iran's nuclear intentions, the administration has held back on stating that sanctions or other punitive measures should be placed on Tehran.

In Tehran meanwhile, lawmakers bitterly attacked the Big 3’s “cowardice”, saying one can no more relay on them.

“We shall not give the European’s a role more than what they are in reality and their policy of stick and carrots is only under American and Zionists pressures”, said Mr. Manouchehr Mottaki, a member of the National Security and Foreign Affairs Committee, speaking at a round table organised by the hard liner’s-controlled Television.

Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran’s former Envoy at the IAEA said the new incentive is both “unrealistic and illogical”. “Using nuclear energy saves a lot of oil, a source that is dwindling down every day”, he told the same debate explaining why Iran its needs for electricity be satisfied with atomic power.

“We are on a cross roads. Either we stand firm (to the West and the IAEA) and we win, or we give in and we loose every thing”, he warned.

IRAN NUCLEAR 151004

5 posted on 10/15/2004 10:19:32 PM PDT by DoctorZIn (Until they are Free, "We shall all be Iranians!")
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To: DoctorZIn

Join the campaign to save Jila 13 from prison and stoning!

Nahid Riazi?s announcement regarding campaigning to save Jila Izadi.

The Islamic regime of Iran is going to stone a 13 year old girl in Marivan to death.

Jila has been condemned to stoning to death. She is pregnant due to a sexual relationship with her 15 year old brother. The Islamic regime of Iran wants to stone this girl. I ask all people in Iran and all NGO organizations which are active for children?s rights or other human rights in Iran and outside Iran to put pressure on the Iranian regime for immediate release of this child.

Jila is a child, a 13 year old child. She must not stay in prison one minute more. We are human beings, and we cannot witness the imprisonment of a child. Execution or stoning to death should be unimaginable.

I implore everybody, and all political or social organizations, to stand up to save Jila?s life. Sign the letter condemning her arrest and sentence. We will guarantee that people in West hear your opinions and condemnation of this barbaric act. With millions of letters in favour of saving Jila and against the Islamic regime, sent to the United Nations and European Union, we can save her life. I ask all internet websites, web loggers, radios and TV stations which are humane, to broadcast this campaign to save Jila?s life. You can sign the condemnation letter below, or write another letter of your own. You can translate this letter into other languages and ask people to sign it.

Please send a copy of your letter to us to make sure we work collectively.

With thanks,

Nahid Riazi

Nahid Riazi from the Central Committee for the Emancipation of Women, and the coordinator of the campaign againstthe imprisonment and stoning of Jila in Marivan.

Tel: 0045 40543992

E-mail: nahid@mail.danbbs.dk
6 posted on 10/15/2004 10:20:00 PM PDT by DoctorZIn (Until they are Free, "We shall all be Iranians!")
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To: DoctorZIn

Payvand's Iran News ...

10/15/04

Iran is France's primary trade partner in Mideast, French minister
Paris, Oct 14, IRNA -- French Foreign Trade Minister Francois Loos said in Paris on Thursday that Iran ranks first among France Trade partners in the Middle East.

Speaking at a seminar on "Foreign Investment Prospect in Iran", he said that the reforms made on foreign investment policy in Iran and the country's suitable investment atmosphere have paved the ground for expansion of bilateral trade relations.

On Iran's peaceful nuclear program and nuclear case pending at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), he added "France's policy has always been to prevent proliferation of nuclear weapons expansion of industrial and scientific expansion with Tehran."

The initiative by the three European foreign minister of France, Germany and Britain in their visit to Tehran was a victory of sorts for the two sides and can be the best of guarantees for France.

He further thanked the Iranian economy minister in providing the grounds for participation of the French companies in Quake-devastated city of Bam. "We hope that the hospital gifted by France to the city will open by the end the 2004."

The first seminar of Foreign Investments prospect in Iran was inaugurated Wednesday with the participation of Iranian private sector, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the French Employers Syndicates.

The seminar was attended by Loos, Iranian Minister of Economy and Finance Safdar Hosseini featuring more than 100 French industrial and financial cooperation.

The two countries experts have formed four committees to discuss joint programs and activities in industrial, telecommunication, finance and agriculture.

Meanwhile, Iran Commerce Minister Mohammad Shariatmadari, heading a trade delegation, met here last year with French Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry Francis Mer.

Mer welcomed Iranian delegation saying that the developments in Iran bode well for expansion of ties between Tehran and Paris.

Paris sees no obstacle in strengthening bilateral trade ties he said adding "The visit to Paris by the Iranian commerce minister is the right step in bolstering relations."

Shairatmadari briefed the French economy minister on policies in lessening the role of government in the Iranian economy, ceding the state-owned enterprises to the private sector and other structural adjustments in the economy in the past several years.

Implementing investment and tax reforms, unification of foreign currency rates, modifying imported exports laws, amending tariff regime and provision for establishing private banking system are among other economic policies, he stated.

Currently there are suitable opportunities for Tehran-Paris cooperation in telecommunications, aeronautics, and oil and gas sectors, he said.


7 posted on 10/15/2004 10:20:25 PM PDT by DoctorZIn (Until they are Free, "We shall all be Iranians!")
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To: DoctorZIn

Iran has lost faith in EU


TEHRAN (MNA) – Top officials from the Group of Eight powers met Friday to discuss ways of making Iran totally suspend its efforts to gain access to the complete nuclear fuel cycle.

The meeting was held to discuss measures proposed by Britain, France and Germany, which have led a European initiative to engage Iran over its nuclear activities.

Following this meeting the Mehr News Agency conducted a series of interviews on the subject.

A former member of the Majlis Foreign Policy and National Security Committee, Jafar Golbaz, says that the European Union has observed none of its commitments regarding Iran’s nuclear dossier.

Golbaz also said that Iran can have no faith in EU commitments any longer.

He added that so far, the process of investigation on Iran’s nuclear dossier indicates that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the European Union and the United States intend to stop uranium enrichment activities in Iran.

“The EU previous behavior warns us to be more cautious in our dealings with them in the future,” the former MP stated.

Referring to the recent proposal of the EU to persuade Iran to halt uranium enrichment, he said that supplying Iran with nuclear fuel as well as transferring relevant technology to Iran, are among the primary rights of the country mentioned in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

This proposal is a sheer lie, Golbaz said, adding that Europe is not the main party facing Iran in the nuclear issue, but rather the EU pursues the interests of the United States in this case.

The former reformist MP said that the EU and the U.S. are imposing difficult conditions on Iran that could weaken the country’s inner unity and destabilize the stances of Iranian officials and political groups.

Iran has been successful in building confidence but the insistence of the United States and the EU on further confidence-building from Iran is merely an excuse, he said.

Golbaz added that Iran should continue talks with the IAEA and the EU, but should not withdraw from its principal stances.

He said that besides the IAEA and EU, Iran should also convince other neighboring countries that its nuclear technology is meant for peaceful purposes and poses no threat to the region.

MP Soleiman Jafarzadeh says that Iran insists on its legal stances regarding peaceful nuclear activities. He added that whoever withdraws from efforts to achieve nuclear technology is betraying the Iranian nation.

“Unfortunately the illogical process of the investigation of Iran’s nuclear dossier indicates that our real disputant is neither the IAEA nor the EU, but the United States,” he said.

Jafarzadeh also added that Europe has always sought the U.S. interests, saying the recent proposal made by the EU is in fact a reflection of the U.S. demands.

He also stressed that Iranian officials should act cautiously.

He stated that the U.S. and EU want to test Iran and their claim to supply Iran with nuclear fuel is just another lie.

Referring to the contradictory behavior of the IAEA and the U.S. toward countries that possess nuclear technology, Jafarzadeh said that according to them Iran should put aside its peaceful nuclear activities, while the Zionist regime can possess nuclear weapons without any supervision.

The MP stated that Iran is determined to follow its peaceful nuclear activities within the framework of international treaties and would not renounce its inalienable rights.

A member of the Majlis Presiding Board, No’ie Aghdam, also said that the EU recent measures are just a new method to limit Iran. Aghdam said that the seventh Majlis would surely respond to their action.

He said that as the EU has not been successful in referring Iran’s nuclear dossier to the United Nation’s Security Council, it is seeking other strategies to gain new privileges.

When Iran stood against the United States and the European Union and refrained from appeasement, they tried to find new ways to negotiate with Iran, he said.

8 posted on 10/15/2004 10:20:55 PM PDT by DoctorZIn (Until they are Free, "We shall all be Iranians!")
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To: DoctorZIn

Tokyo Executives Exported Missile Components to Iran

"PA"

A Japanese court today convicted two executives of a Tokyo machinery-maker of illegally exporting equipment to Iran that could be used to make missile fuel.

The Tokyo District Court gave Haruhiko Ueda, 70, president of Tokyo-based Seishin Enterprise, a two-and-a-half-year suspended prison sentence.

Akira Kamiya, 42, Seishin’s former South Korea branch manager, was given a suspended 18-month prison term. The court also ordered the company to pay a 15 million yen (£76,000) fine.

The court found the two had violated foreign exchange and customs laws, court spokesman Yukio Higeta said. The men won’t go to prison unless they commit another crime during the terms of their suspended sentences.

The court said the two men illegally exported two grinders that could be used to produce solid fuel for rockets and missiles to Iran in 1999 and 2000 without obtaining export permission from the government. They were arrested in June 2003.

Exporting the grinders is restricted under international guidelines established by the Missile Technology Control Regime, a pact signed by Japan, the United States and other countries to prevent the proliferation of missiles that could be used to deliver weapons of mass destruction.

9 posted on 10/15/2004 10:21:17 PM PDT by DoctorZIn (Until they are Free, "We shall all be Iranians!")
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To: DoctorZIn

No progress in Iran nuke talks


Washington, DC, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- There was little progress Friday in a meeting of the Group of Eight nations to discuss European incentives for Iran to end its nuclear weapons program.

European diplomats, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, called the meeting "useful," but added neither side changed its view of the issue.

The U.S. State Department said it "carefully listened" to the European proposals, and said it made clear that Iran should be referred to the U.N. Security Council for its non-compliance of previous resolutions of the International Atomic Energy agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

The United States was represented by Glyn Davies, deputy assistant secretary in the State Department's European Bureau, and Undersecretary for Arms Control John Bolton. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage briefly attended, department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

The Europeans were expected to make their offer to Iran next week. The incentives were expected to include imported nuclear fuel for Iran's civilian reactor in Buesher and the lifting of some economic sanctions on Iran so it can modernize its national airline.

The G8 includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

10 posted on 10/15/2004 10:21:42 PM PDT by DoctorZIn (Until they are Free, "We shall all be Iranians!")
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To: DoctorZIn

RETHINKING THE INTIFADA

By AMIR TAHERI
NY Post
[Excerpt]

October 15, 2004 -- EARLIER this month, Ahmed Qureia, the Pales tinian prime minister, suggested a review of the four-year-old intifada as the starting point for a debate on a new strategy. Qureia's proposal was quickly dismissed by Yasser Arafat, who regards any debate as a challenge to his one-man show.

Yet the Palestinians need to ask whether four years of a violent struggle that has claimed the lives of thousands, and wrecked the lives of many more, have produced positive results for them.

What was to become known as "the second Initfada" was launched at the end of 2000, when Arafat walked out of the last session of the U.S.-brokered talks at the American Embassy in Paris. As then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright ran after Arafat, begging him not to walk away, the Palestinian leader shouted defiantly that all was now "up to the Palestinian street."

One little fact, forgotten by many, is that Arafat took the decision to walk out of the peace talks after long consultation with Saddam Hussein, then still in power in Baghdad. Did Saddam advise Arafat to make the move? Or did the Palestinian leader think that, by ordering an uprising, he would silence his own critics on the radical Islamist wing?

The second intifada was Arafat's latest move in the complex chess game he had played with the Israelis since the days of back-channel diplomacy in Oslo. Later, Arafat was to claim that this intifada, far from being a deliberate move on his part, had been provoked by Ariel Sharon's controversial visit to the Islamic edifices in East Jerusalem.

As a form of low-intensity warfare, intifada is an instrument in the service of a policy. The problem for the Palestinians is that it is used not as a means to an end but as an end in itself. What Arafat rejected in 2000 was clear. But what exactly it was that he wanted was never clarified. This ambiguity is the inevitable result of contradictions in the strategy that Arafat developed from 1991 onwards.

Fearing marginalization as a result of his alliance with Saddam Hussein in 1990-91, Arafat recast himself as the only Palestinian leader capable of delivering a peace deal to Israel. The problem was that Arafat never decided in his own mind what kind of deal, if any, he would accept. Thus when the Israelis, prompted by President Clinton, revealed their hand, Arafat had no hand to reveal. The intifada was triggered as a means of hiding the lack of a Palestinian strategy.

How long can the current violence continue? Unless stopped politically, it can last for ever.

In the short run, the initfada suits everyone. As long as bombs explode and Israelis retaliate, Arafat is under no pressure to offer any political strategy while no one will dare challenge his despotic rule.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, meanwhile, owes his election mainly to the violence triggered by Arafat, because the present Likud coalition also lacks a strategy. Military reprisals, targeted killings and the proposed withdrawal from Gaza, are tactical moves that do not constitute a proper strategy.

And as long as the intifada continues, the United States has a ready-made excuse for its diplomatic lethargy, and the Europeans have ample opportunities for making moralistic statements without taking political risks.

The Arabs states also have reason to be happy with the intifada. It provides a smoke-screen to hide their failure to agree even on an analysis of the problem, let alone its solution.

The only losers are the Palestinians and their Israeli neighbors.

Having suffered heavy losses, the Palestinians are no closer to achieving their goal, because no one knows what that goal is. To some, the goal is the elimination of Israel from the map. Others pursue the two-state chimera. Still others dream of a single Arab-Jewish state in which the Palestinians will, thanks to their faster demography, become the majority.

The Israelis, too, are no longer sure of what they want. The two-states dream appears farther away than ever. while the prospect of an Israeli civil war prompted by attempts to dismantle some Jewish settlements is no longer dismissed as fanciful. The single Jewish-Arab state solution, though preached by some Israelis, is unlikely to win majority support anytime soon.

So, the intifada, and its mirror-image of Israeli retaliation are likely to continue, forever, if necessary. (In politics, the term "forever" means until the protagonists develop alternative strategies.)

By the standards of low-intensity warfare, the intifada has not been successful.

Israel has sustained losses, at the average rate of one killed every four days, but Palestinian losses are more than twice as high. The intifada has wreaked havoc on the Israeli economy, which has been stuck in recession since 2002. But the damage to the Palestinian economy is more severe. The latest United Nations and World Bank assessment illustrate a dramatic fall in Palestinian living standards.

The Palestinian hope that the intifada might persuade large numbers of Israelis to leave the Jewish state has not materialized. Israel's net population loss is estimated at around 15,000 a year, most of them Jews. But the Palestinian loss, estimated at around 18,000 a year from the occupied territories and Israel proper, is more significant because it concerns a smaller population base.

While much of the blame for the impasse must be laid at the Arafat's door, it would be unfair to scapegoat him. The real problem is that Palestine, as a political issue, has, over the past 50 years, been transformed into an abstract, metaphysical and almost mystical cause, one that can no longer be tackled through worldly methods such as diplomacy.

For decades, the only solution acceptable to those who professed that cause was a complete rewinding of the reel of history to the pre-1947 era. After The Six-Day War, the realization that such a rewind would not happen led to a new illusion: a return to June 4, 1967.

After 1991 those who saw Palestine only as a cause devised a new slogan: "just peace." The problem is that the phrase "just peace" (and variants such as "the peace of the brave") are oxymoronic. Peace is peace, with no prefixes or suffixes.

A peace that appears just to one party must, be definition, appear unjust to another. Many Palestinians would regard any peace that leaves a Jewish state in place in any shape as unjust. And many Israelis would regard the transfer of any parcel of a land that they regard as "promised" to them as injustice.

In practical terms, the formula "land for peace" can cause only war. Land is something quantifiable, while peace is not.

Peace will become possible only if Palestine and Israel cease to be seen as abstract causes, at least as far as the territorial aspect of the conflict is concerned.

Both Israel and the Palestinians still have to ask hard questions from themselves. The Palestinians must ask whether or not they are prepared to accept the "injustice" of Israel's existence and, if yes, in what shape. The Israelis, for their part, must ask whether or not they can truly accept in their hearts the "injustice" of relinquishing their claim on parts of their "promised land," including the "holy city" of Jerusalem.

It is only when both sides have accepted an "unjust" peace that they can close the circle of violence which, in one form or another, has engulfed them for half a century. ...

E-mail:

amirtaheri@benadorassociates.com
11 posted on 10/15/2004 10:26:57 PM PDT by DoctorZIn (Until they are Free, "We shall all be Iranians!")
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To: DoctorZIn
FORMER IRANIAN PRESIDENT COY ON CANDIDACY.

"The ground has been prepared for [Expediency Council Chairman and former President Ayatollah Ali-Akbar] Hashemi-Rafsanjani's candidacy," Rahmani-Khalili said on 13 October, according to Fars News Agency. Speaking the same day to a meeting of political leaders who were calling for him to run, Hashemi-Rafsanjani said there is plenty of time before candidates register for the May 2005 presidential election, IRNA reported. The secretaries-general of the Islamic Labor Party, Labor House, Islamic Civilization Party, and other organizations were at the meeting. Hashemi-Rafsanjani went on to say that he favors the participation of "young and highly skilled manpower." In an 8 October meeting with clerics in Qom, Hashemi-Rafsanjani reiterated his stance that he will be a candidate only if it is necessary, ISNA reported. "I have said repeatedly before that if no one else is prepared to run for the presidency, I will be prepared to enter the arena again to manage the country in sensitive circumstances. However at present, I am waiting for another suitable person to do the job," he said. "I am still waiting for a suitable person to run for presidency." BS

Source: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 8, No. 195, Part III, 14 October 2004
12 posted on 10/15/2004 10:49:08 PM PDT by AdmSmith
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To: All
UNEMPLOYMENT IN IRAN REACHES 27 PERCENT.

National Youth Organization head Rahim Ebadi told "Sharq" of 14 October that, "currently, the unemployment rate has reached 27 percent." He went on to say that the government is trying to reduce the unemployment rate to 15 percent and added that half of his organization's assets go toward creating work opportunities for young people. The World Bank's Country Brief on Iran states, "The rate of unemployment dropped in 2004 for the second year in a row, reaching 11.2 percent (from 14.7 percent in 2002)." Approximately 700,000 jobs must be created annually to account for new entrants in the work force, according to the World Bank, but only about 500,000 have been created. BS

Source: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 8, No. 196, Part III, 15 October 2004
13 posted on 10/15/2004 11:19:51 PM PDT by AdmSmith
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To: AdmSmith

Owners of the pro-IRI Iranian.com pulled a recent poll that they expected to favor John Kerry on ties with the Iranian government. When the poll came out strongly against his prefered pro-IRI, Kerry agenda he immediately polled the poll and referred to it as "cheating". After receiving negative e-mails he got rid of the entire polling system all together.

Let him know how you feel. Every single person needs to contact him and let him know that the community is against his decision: Contact times@iranian.com.


14 posted on 10/16/2004 12:33:52 AM PDT by freedom44
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To: freedom44

Good job.


15 posted on 10/16/2004 12:45:23 AM PDT by DoctorZIn (Until they are Free, "We shall all be Iranians!")
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To: DoctorZIn

Europeans to Offer Iran Another Deal

[Excerpt]

Britain, France and Germany agree on a last- ditch attempt to rein in Tehran's nuclear efforts.

By Sonni Efron, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — The major European countries agreed Friday to offer Iran "a bigger stick and a bigger carrot" in a last-ditch deal to induce Tehran's leaders to abandon their uranium-enrichment program or face U.N. action, diplomats and officials said.

Expressing hope that Iran would accept the deal and avoid a confrontation over nuclear weapons, one European official said, "There are those in Tehran who do not want to be seen as international outlaws." But he conceded that "they may not be in the ascendancy" inside the Iranian government, which is dominated by hard-liners.

The deal, to be offered to Iranian representatives next week by Britain, France and Germany, would recognize Iran's right to develop technology that leads to the peaceful use of nuclear power and guarantee its access to reactor fuel, officials said. At the same time, it would require Iran to stop work on technology that could be used to make atomic weapons. Trade cooperation and other undisclosed benefits also would be on offer.

If Iran accepts, it will have to allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to verify its cooperation before a crucial agency meeting Nov. 25, two European officials said. If it refuses, they said, the agency's board will vote at that meeting on whether to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty — a step long sought by the Bush administration.

Senior officials from the Group of 8 industrialized nations met at the State Department on Friday but did not agree on a joint statement of action by all eight countries. Diplomats said that was to be expected, given the sharp differences among the United States, Russia and the European powers on Iran policy.

The Bush administration has little hope that the European-led initiative will succeed, and it did not endorse the proposal, though it did not block it, a senior U.S. official said.

"We're not throwing anything into this other than our consent to their going ahead," the official said.

One European diplomat noted: "We were not expecting that [the administration] would back something that was not their policy until now, just before the presidential election. Still, we have to try.

"It's a satisfactory outcome that we have the eight richest countries in the world sending a clear message to Iran that it must comply with its obligations," the European official said. The G-8 comprises the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Japan and Russia.

The administration believes Iran's yearlong negotiations with Britain, France and Germany have been a stalling ploy while Tehran accelerated work on secret nuclear weapons programs. Iran insists it wants only peaceful nuclear technologies.

Lacking the U.N. votes for sanctions against Iran, the U.S. has had to allow the Europeans to exhaust all diplomatic options and push for the matter to be taken up at the Security Council as soon as possible.

The Europeans, meanwhile, have been embarrassed by their inability to win compliance from Iran, which in September reversed an earlier pledge and said it was proceeding with uranium-enrichment programs. Still, they argued that the world must offer real incentives for Iran to comply and show a serious diplomatic effort, or the IAEA board would not vote to refer the matter to the Security Council.

European diplomats acknowledge that the proposed deal closely resembles one that Iran accepted a year ago, then reneged on.

The challenge for the Europeans has been to craft incentives that will be sufficiently appealing to Iran, yet not so lucrative that the Bush administration would oppose them as appearing to reward a nuclear aspirant that had promised not to develop nuclear weapons.

A second problem is that Iran's position on the nuclear issue has hardened over the last year as the possibility of a U.S. military strike receded.

"They were real scared that the U.S. was going to come whack them in 2003, but then we got bogged down in Iraq," said George Perkovich, a nonproliferation specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. ...

"The United States should embrace the Iranian people's call for regime change," said Alireza Jafarzadeh, an opposition figure in Washington. "Nothing short of this would amount to much leverage in trying to stop Iran's nuclear weapons program."

16 posted on 10/16/2004 10:09:20 AM PDT by DoctorZIn (Until they are Free, "We shall all be Iranians!")
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To: DoctorZIn

Iran Rejects Any Deal to End Uranium Enrichment

Sat Oct 16, 2004 08:29 AM ET

By Amir Paivar

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said on Saturday it would reject any proposal to halt uranium enrichment, a step European Union diplomats are proposing to end a row over whether Iran is seeking atomic weapons.

EU diplomats have said they are seeking U.S. and Russian support for a deal that would ask Iran to give up uranium enrichment in return for technical and economic assistance.

"Any proposal which deprives Iran of its legitimate right to a fuel cycle is not acceptable," Hossein Mousavian, Iran's head of foreign policy on the Supreme National Security Council, told state television.

However, he said he was not responding to a specific offer.

"We have not yet received the text of the proposal and have to see what it contains to assess it," he said.

Uranium enriched to a low level can be used to fuel nuclear power stations such as one Iran is building at the southern port of Bushehr.

If enriched further it can be used in nuclear warheads. But oil-rich Iran denies accusations from Washington that it has military nuclear ambitions and argues its atomic program is dedicated solely to meeting booming demand for electricity.

EU WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH

The French Foreign Ministry in Paris, asked about Mousavian's remarks, said France would still push for Iran to give up its enrichment program.

"Time is short. France and its partners will continue to work with the Iranian authorities ... with, as their goal, securing the complete suspension by Iran of its enrichment and reprocessing activities," a spokesman said.

Iran mines uranium ore in its central desert near the city of Yazd, and Iranian politicians have been united in saying that the fuel cycle, from cutting uranium ore out of the ground to producing fuel, should be entirely in Iranian hands.

"Western countries want to get our oil then sell us nuclear fuel at tens or hundreds of times more than its price," he added.

U.S. presidential hopeful John Kerry and his allies have proposed "calling Iran's bluff" by offering to supply atomic fuel so that Iran could give up its enrichment program.

Foreign Ministers from Britain, France and Germany won Iran's guarantee to suspend uranium enrichment when they visited Tehran last year.

But the promise lapsed and Iran has since restarted making parts for centrifuges that enrich uranium by spinning it at supersonic speed, and has started producing uranium hexafluoride, the centrifuges' feed gas.

Israel has increased pressure on Iran's enrichment activities by buying in weaponry that could target centrifuge bunkers, deep underground near the central town of Natanz. (-Additional reporting by Jon Boyle In Paris)


17 posted on 10/16/2004 10:15:19 AM PDT by DoctorZIn (Until they are Free, "We shall all be Iranians!")
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To: DoctorZIn

Analysis: Tehran Talks Out Of Both Sides Of Mouth On Afghan Election

Afghanistan -- map
The Iranian government is continuing to take a two-pronged approach to events in neighboring countries. The relatively moderate Foreign Ministry has congratulated Afghanistan on its first election, which took place on 9 October. Official government radio, however, is sending a different message to the Afghan people, with Dari broadcasts from northwestern Iran denouncing Hamid Karzai as a U.S. stooge and playing up alleged election violations.

Two weeks before the Afghan election, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi stressed the importance of the event, IRNA reported on 26 September. "We believe that broad-based election, in which all people with differences of views are allowed to choose their [candidates], is [a] very important and effective step towards stability, prosperity, and economic growth of Afghanistan," he said.

Two days after the election, Assefi said that Tehran views the event as a "positive move," IRNA reported on 11 October. Assefi said the all-inclusive nature of the 9 October election contributed to national solidarity, political stability, and economic development in Afghanistan. He expressed Iran's readiness to support Afghanistan's democratic efforts, and noted that Afghan refugees in Iran participated in the election. The International Organization for Migration, which organized refugee voting in Iran and Pakistan, said less than 40 percent of eligible refugees in Iran voted, the "Daily Times" reported on 12 October.

Iranian Ambassador to Afghanistan Mohammad Reza Bahrami sent a letter to Afghan Transitional Chairman Hamid Karzai congratulating him, the election organizers, and the Afghan people on their election, Kabul's Radio Afghanistan reported on 11 October. "The successful arrangement for Afghanistan's first-ever direct presidential election was a long stride toward the establishment of a lasting peace, strengthening the foundations of stability, and paving the way for comprehensive development in Afghanistan," Bahrami's letter stated, IRNA reported.

In contrast with these expressions of support, Iranian state radio's Dari-language service, which is based in the northeastern city of Mashhad, tried to discourage participation in the election and denounced the incumbent candidate. Mashhad radio reported on 4 October, "because of the U.S. and other Western countries' apparent and clear support for Karzai..., [his] rivals and the country's political observers have described the election contest as unfair." The next day, Mashhad radio reported, "Karzai has imposed an unfair contest on other candidates by taking advantage of government resources and enjoying the support of the United States and other Western countries." The report underlined U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad's alleged support for Karzai, and it added, "Doubts about the election campaign in Afghanistan will certainly put a big question mark over the credibility of the election and the legitimacy of the future president." Citing an anonymous "informed source," Mashhad radio claimed on 6 October that the U.S. Embassy was buying voting cards because, "Washington wants its favorite to become president."

On election day, Mashhad radio cited candidates' allegations of fraud. The next day, an Afghan journalist named Sayyed Essa Hosayni Mazari was quoted as saying there were electoral violations, and he added that the Joint Electoral Management Body favored one candidate. And in the following days there were more reports about candidates' complaints.

"America is throwing its absolute weight behind the president of Afghanistan, and [U.S. Ambassador] Zalmay Khalilzad is making his utmost efforts in Kabul to secure his [Hamid Karzai's] victory," Mashhad radio announced in an 11 October broadcast. "And Karzai's personal use of all government facilities to get rid of rivals and to stay in power for longer were the other factors which made it clear to the people that nobody else but Karzai is the winner."

Mashhad radio went on to describe the issue as a choice between Western democracy and Islamic values, and it suggested that the election is meant to legitimize "an occupation and the appointment of the occupiers' favorite government." It concluded, "It is indisputable that the occupiers, who have not spared a crime to achieve their goals in Afghanistan, will take out from people's ballot boxes the name of the person whom they have already appointed."

Vote counting began on 14 October, and according to an anonymous senior official cited by AP, turnout was about 75 percent. A final tally is not expected until the end of October. Hard-line Iranian state radio, meanwhile, is doing its utmost to undermine the entire process.

[For more on the Afghan elections, see RFE/RL and Radio Free Afghanistan's dedicated "Afghanistan Votes 2004-05" webpage.]

18 posted on 10/16/2004 10:20:58 AM PDT by DoctorZIn (Until they are Free, "We shall all be Iranians!")
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To: DoctorZIn

Iran to Reject EU Three's Nuclear Proposal

The EU delegation of Fischer, Straw and Villepin are to be rebuffed

A plan put to Iran by Germany, France and Britain in a bid to avoid the Islamic state's nuclear ambitions becoming a UN Security Council issue will be dismissed by Tehran, a senior official said on Saturday.

Iran will reject any European proposal for a complete cessation of its work on the nuclear fuel cycle, but is willing to consider further "confidence-building" measures and extending a suspension of uranium enrichment, a top Iranian official told reporters on Saturday.

"We would be willing to consider any package that recognizes the full right of Iran to enjoy peaceful nuclear technology within the framework of the NPT (nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty)," Hossein Mousavian, a senior national security official involved in the nuclear negotiations, said. "But Iran is not prepared for cessation. Any package including a cessation of fuel cycle work would be rejected by Iran," he added.

Mousavian said Iran expected the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to recognize its right under the NPT to possess the full nuclear fuel cycle. If this were the case, he said the Islamic republic was ready to consider extending its suspension of uranium enrichment and discuss new initiatives that would provide long-term guarantees that the process would never be diverted to military purposes.

His comments came after Britain, France and Germany -- who have been spearheading negotiations with Iran -- told the United States they will in the coming days offer Iran incentives to persuade it to halt uranium enrichment activities.

The so-called "EU Three" will offer the package of inducements as a November 25 deadline looms for Iran to comply with IAEA demands to suspend uranium enrichment and come clean about its nuclear ambitions or be referred to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.

EU package comes from mistrust, says Iran

Bushehr nuclear power plant was Iran's first and is central to claims of a weapons program.
Diplomats say the package would give Iran access to imported nuclear fuel and other perks in return for a total suspension of its own work on the nuclear fuel cycle. "Iran is definitely open to confidence-building measures, full cooperation with the IAEA, full transparency and all confidence building measures that are required to assure the world that all enrichment activities would always remain peaceful and never be for military purposes," Mousavian said.

"If they have a mistrust of our future enrichment activities and fear its diversion to nuclear weapons, this chapter is open to the IAEA to implement a mechanism that assures it remains peaceful." But he repeated that "the fuel cycle is definitely a legitimate right of every member" of the IAEA. "Cessation would be discrimination against an IAEA member in the implementation of the NPT and safeguards," he added.

Diplomats say they have been trying to convince Iran to strike a "Libya-style deal", whereby the country surrenders some of its sensitive nuclear capabilities -- such as the fuel cycle -- in return for diplomatic and trade incentives. While the talk has been of suspending or halting fuel cycle work, the Europeans and the United States would eventually like to see Iran give it up altogether.

Libyan model will not work on Iran

German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. But Mousavian said Iran was not Libya. "The Libyan formula would not work with Iran. Iran is a country with thousands of years of history, with huge human resources. With such a nation, you cannot talk and discuss like you do with Libya. And we have the technology already. We have the know-how already," he asserted.

"We are prepared for the continuation of confidence-building measures. But there are two conditions: that the rights of Iran are respected and the contents of the package. Is it sellable? Are they serious in implementing the package?"

"Mistrust is bilateral. If the Americans and the Europeans do not trust Iran, we cannot trust them."

Iran has no interest in nuclear weapon

Iran's armed forces display the Shahab-3 missile, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The official, responsible for foreign affairs within Iran's Supreme National Security Council, also reiterated denials that the country was even interested in nuclear weapons. "We really believe weapons of mass destruction do not bring security for any country. Not Pakistan, India or Israel. They would never be able to use these weapons, so they are just for power prestige. Hundreds of millions of dollars spent for nothing," he said.

Referring to the 1980-1988 war with Iraq, he said "Iran was the first victim of weapons of mass destruction after World War II. But we did not retaliate with mass destruction weapons: that is confidence building."
19 posted on 10/16/2004 10:33:51 AM PDT by DoctorZIn (Until they are Free, "We shall all be Iranians!")
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To: DoctorZIn

US sweep Baghdad nets Syrian, Iranian rebels

AFP - World News
Oct 15, 2004

BAGHDAD - An operation by US and Iraqi forces south of Baghdad has netted two Syrian "terrorists" and an unknown number of Iranians, an official from Iraq's national guard said on Friday.

US-led forces, Iraqi police and national guardsmen conducted the two-day sweep in a belt of farming towns -- Mahmudiyah, Latifiyah and Iskandariyah -- known as the triangle of death, where militants have killed and kidnapped foreigners and locals, the official said on condition of anonymity.

He said "the operation is designed to stabilise the region."

The arrests took place in the same area as an ongoing push by US and Iraqi forces that was launched last week, under the name "Phantom Fury".

20 posted on 10/16/2004 10:36:00 AM PDT by DoctorZIn (Until they are Free, "We shall all be Iranians!")
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