Rise of The Iranian People

Iran makes new uranium enrichment challenge

BBC | Feb. 7, 2010

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has asked the country’s nuclear chief to begin enriching uranium to 20%.

The move comes amid a worsening stand-off over a Western offer for Iran to swap enriched uranium for nuclear fuel.

The West fears Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons – and have threatened new sanctions. Iran insists its program is peaceful.

The US defense secretary urged the world to “stand together,” saying there was still time for sanctions to work.

In London, the Foreign Office said Mr Ahmadinejad’s announcement was “clearly a matter of serious concern”.

“This would be a deliberate breach of five UNSCRs [United Nations Security Council Resolutions],” it said in a statement.

Mr Ahmadinejad made the announcement on Iranian state television – two days after his foreign minister said a deal on swapping enriched uranium for nuclear fuel was close – a claim greeted with skepticism by Western powers.

“I had said let us give them [Western powers] two to three months, and if they don’t agree, we would start ourselves,” Mr Ahmadinejad said in a speech broadcast live.

Defense secretary Robert M. Gates skeptical of Iran’s claims about nuclear deal

Washington Post | Feb. 7, 2010

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Saturday played down assertions by Iran that it is ready to reach a deal on its nuclear program, saying Tehran’s overall response to overtures from the Obama administration has been “quite disappointing.”

His statement came three days after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad signaled that Iran was prepared to accept a deal offered by the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany, under which Tehran would hand over a stockpile of uranium for processing outside the country.

In exchange, Iran would receive enriched fuel that would enable it to power a reactor for medical research but not make bombs.

During a visit to the Turkish capital, Ankara, Gates did not completely dismiss the Iranian statements but expressed skepticism about Tehran’s sincerity.

“The reality is that they have done nothing to reassure the international community that they are prepared to . . . stop their progress toward making a nuclear weapon,” Gates said.

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Iran says ready to send enriched uranium abroad

WaPo | Feb. 2, 2010

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday Iran was ready to send its enriched uranium abroad in exchange for nuclear fuel under a plan the West hopes will prevent the development of material used for atomic bombs.

The U.N. nuclear agency has brokered a proposed deal requiring Iran to send its low enriched uranium abroad in exchange for more highly enriched fuel to produce medical isotopes.

Iran has denied seeking nuclear weapons. “We have no problem sending our enriched uranium abroad,” Ahmadinejad told state television.

“We say: we will give you our 3.5 percent enriched uranium and we will get the fuel. It may take 4 to 5 months until we get the fuel,” he said.

“If we send our enriched uranium abroad and then they do not give us the 20 percent enriched fuel for our reactor, we are capable of producing it inside Iran,” he added.

Ahmadinejad’s comments came after Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog reported last week that a deal on uranium enrichment was still possible, even though Western diplomats had claimed Tehran had effectively turned down the proposal.

Under the proposed deal, Tehran would transfer 70 percent of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) abroad for conversion into special fuel rods to keep the nuclear medicine reactor running.

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Tehran, Iran (CNN) — Mir Hossein Moussavi, the Iranian opposition leader and symbol of anti-government fervor, lashed out against Iran’s Islamic Republic Tuesday, saying remnants of the “tyranny” and “dictatorship” that prevailed under the toppled Shah of Iran’s regime persist today.

“In the early years of the Islamic Revolution, most people were convinced that the structure of the revolution would destroy the past political situation of tyranny and dictatorship, and I was one of them who believed that,” said Moussavi, a former prime minister.

But now, he said, that’s not true anymore.

“The current political situation in Iran indicates the presence of the remaining roots of tyranny and dictatorship of the Shah,” whose regime was overthrown in 1979 and replaced by an Islamic republic led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

“I don’t believe that the revolution achieved its goals,” said Moussavi, speaking out forcefully as the tensions over Iranian politics continue.

The regime is marking the anniversary of the shah’s overthrow with a series of events that began this week and culminate on February 11. Moussavi and Mehdi Karrubi, another Iranian opposition leader, have urged supporters to demonstrate.

Those celebrations coincide with Iranian trials and executions of street protesters who demonstrate against the June 12 presidential election victory of incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In the final results Ahmadinejad was declared the winner over Moussavi, a result seen by many Iranians as questionable or rigged.

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Official: Report on university attack has to wait

Khabar Online | Jan. 27, 2010

Deputy Majles Speaker Seyyed Mohammad Hassan Abutorabi said officials were determined to track down and punish those behind the Tehran University dormitory incident.

“Given the Leader’s wishes about a probe into the attack on the Tehran University dormitory and punishing the perpetrators, authorities are determined [to take action] and the investigations of the truth-finding committee have yielded very positive results,” he said.

Abutorabi was asked why the Tehran University dorm report had not been presented in Majles. “Because the truth-finding committee’s report on Kahrizak was read out in Majles, the Tehran University dorm report will be presented to lawmakers at a better time,” he said. “The Tehran University dorm report is just as transparent and straightforward as the Kahrizak report and it will be read in Majles after a better conclusion is reached.”

Lawmakers to meet with family of fourth Kahrizak victim

Asr Iran | Jan. 27, 2010

Head of the Majles truth-finding committee Parviz Sarvari said the panel had heard about the fourth Kahrizak victim only as they were about to conclude its report.

In response to speculation about failing to include Ramin Aghazadeh Qahramani’s name in the Kahrizak report, Sarvari said, “We heard that he died after his release from prison but either way me and Mr. [Mohammad] Dehghan the will be visiting his family and we will listen to what they have to say.”

The member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission told Mehr News Agency that, “This issue was different as we were following up on the cases of the Kahrizak victims and from what we heard this individual [Qahramani] passed away after his release from prison.”

“Of course I am not 100 percent sure and we must review the coroner’s files as well as other documents to be able to make a statement in this regard,” he said. “In any case, given that the Kahrizak report has been read in Majles, the work of the truth-finding committee is over.”

He added that the only way to investigate Qaharamani’s case was through a delegation appointed by the National Security Commission.

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Javad Larijani uses racial slur in reference to Obama

Asr Iran | Peykeiran | Jan. 23, 2010

Mohammad Javad Larijani criticized the policies adopted by U.S. President Barack Obama and referred to him using a racial epithet.

“When Barack Obama was sworn into office he talked of verbally engaging Iran,” the U.C. Berkeley graduate was quoted as saying. “What has changed is that today this [the equivalent of the N-word in Farsi] talks of regime change in Iran.”

In a Saturday meeting at the Islamic Engineers Society, Larijani said, “I am not a racist, but I must respond to this man [Obama] in some way.”

Larijani’s brother, Ali, is the speaker of Majles (Parliament). Another brother, Sadegh, is head of the judiciary.

Plane catches fire in Iran, injures 42

Reuters | Photos | Jan. 24, 2010

Some 42 Iranians were injured when a Russian-made Tupolev aircraft caught fire as it landed in northeastern Iran on Sunday, state radio said.

“About 42 passengers, out of 157 aboard, were injured when the plane was landing at Mashhad city’s airport,” said Gholamreza Massoumi, head of Iran’s emergency medical services.

There were no fatalities, said Iran’s civil aviation spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh.

A senior local official said the wounded were not in a critical condition, state television said.

The official IRNA news agency said the incident occurred when the rear end of the plane, which belonged to Iran’s domestic Taban Airliner, caught fire while landing. The cause of the incident was being investigated, IRNA said.

Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency said on Sunday it will investigate the reasons behind the fire and said “weather conditions and visibility problems were most likely behind the incident,” state-run news agency RIA-Novosti reported.

In the worst plane crash in Iran in the past six years, a Tupolev aircraft crashed in 2009 in Iran on its way to Armenia, after catching fire mid-air and crashing into farmland killing all 168 people on board.

Iran has suffered a string of crashes in the past few decades, many involving Russian-made aircraft.

U.S. sanctions against Iran have prevented it from buying new aircraft or spare parts from the West, forcing it to add to its aging fleet of Boeing and Airbus planes with aircraft from Russia and other former Soviet Union states.

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Engineer’s arrest exposes U.S. pursuit of Iranians

WaPo | Jan. 22, 2010

The case of Majid Kakavand, accused of purchasing American electronics online and routing it to Iran via Malaysia, has shed light on increasing U.S. attempts to crack down on people outside American borders suspected of illegally buying U.S. supplies for Iran military programs.

The case is also pushing the justice system in France, which has grown increasingly tough on Iran’s nuclear ambitions but also has trade and oil interests in the country, toward a stand that could have deep diplomatic and economic repercussions.

Kakavand’s future could be decided at a Feb. 17 Paris hearing on whether to extradite him to the United States.

Iran’s government spoke out about the case for the first time this week, accusing France of linking Kakavand’s fate to that of a young French academic on trial in Iran. It says Kakavand is innocent and suggests he is being used as a bargaining chip in the diplomatic tug-of-war over 24-year-old Clotilde Reiss.

NYC consultant denied bail in Iran trade case

Wapo | Jan. 21, 2010

A management consultant charged with violating the Iran Trade Embargo was denied bail Thursday despite his claims that he would not be welcome in Iran.

U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan ordered Mahmoud Reza Banki held until his March 22 trial on charges that he broke money transfer laws when he and relatives in Iran transferred money to each other.

Banki, 33, of Manhattan, has been held without bail since he was arrested earlier this month. He is accused of operating an unlicensed money transfer business, a charge that federal sentencing guidelines suggest would carry a prison term of at least five years after a conviction.

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Four arrested after Iran prosecutor assassinated

BBC Jan. 21, 2010

Four people have been arrested after an Iranian state prosecutor was shot dead outside his home in northern Iran.

Vali Hajgholizadeh, who officials say had a reputation for fighting corruption, was killed in the town of Khoy near the Turkish border.

Local officials said a Kurdish separatist group had claimed responsibility for the killing.
The region has been the scene of frequent clashes with Kurdish groups who want to establish their own state.

Two gunmen opened fire on Mr Hajgholizadeh outside his house late on Monday, and he died of his wounds in hospital.

The Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), a Kurdish militant group based in Iraqi Kurdistan claimed it carried out the attack, local government official Fakhrali Nikbakht told the Mehr News agency.

Four men were arrested on Tuesday, but no details have been given about their identities.

Clinton Urges Global Response to Internet Attacks

NYT Jan. 10, 2010

Coupling a salute to Internet freedom with a carefully worded caution to countries like China and Iran, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that countries that engaged in cyberattacks should face consequences and international condemnation.

“In an interconnected world, an attack on one nation’s networks can be an attack on all,” she said in a speech in Washington. “By reinforcing that message, we can create norms of behavior among states and encourage respect for the global networked commons.”

Mrs. Clinton’s comments came in a speech in which she announced a new $15 million effort to help more young people, women and citizens groups in other countries communicate on the Web.

“Given the magnitude of the challenges we’re facing, we need people around the world to pool their knowledge and creativity to help rebuild the global economy, protect our environment, defeat violent extremism and build a future in which every human being can realize their God-given potential,” she said, according to the advance text of a speech at the Newseum in Washington.

Her remarks came at a time when Internet controls have drawn increasing public attention. Limits on Internet searches led to a dispute made public this month between Google and China, and sites such as Facebook and Twitter, which played a critical role in helping protesters in Iran spread news and images of violent crackdowns on antigovernment demonstrations, have been blocked by the authorities in Tehran

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Iranian academics fear more killings

Nature | Jan. 19, 2010

Iran’s scientific community is reeling after the assassination on 12 January of Masoud Alimohammadi, a particle physicist at the University of Tehran.

Alimohammadi was killed by a bomb as he got into his car to go to work. “Everyone is worried that this may be only the start, and that there may be more killings of academics to come,” one researcher says.

Nature interviewed half a dozen scientists in Iran who knew Alimohammadi, all of whom requested anonymity. They are mystified as to why he was singled out. “I could expect that some influential political figure be assassinated, but not him,” says one. Like many intellectuals in Iran, he was politically engaged, but far from being a political activist, the researchers say.

Mottaki calls for return of diplomat in Norway

Gooya | Jan. 18, 2010

In a joint press conference with his Gergian counterpart on Monday, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that he awaited the return of the Iranian consulate employee who requested political asylum in Norway.

Mohammed-Reza Heydari, an Iranian diplomat in Oslo, said he resigned from his post on account of his government’s violent suppression of demonstrators on the day of Ashura (December 27).

“This individual handed in his resignation to the Iranian Embassy in Norway and given that his resignation did not meet with approval, he should have ended his work there and resumed work at the Foreign Ministry. This is the normal procedure and this is why we hope to see him continue his services [to the country] in Norway.”

Tajzadeh due in court in February

Tabnak |
Jan. 18, 2010

Mostafa Tajzadeh, a leading reformist figure, has said that until a complaint he filed a decade ago is brought to court, he will not be attending any court hearings, according to his wife.

“My husband believes if they had heard his complaint none of the present problems would have occurred,” Fakhralsadat Mohtashami, Tajzadeh’s wife, told an Arya reporter.
“Tajzadeh has said that he will not appear in his court hearing scheduled for February 20 and the judge can hand down any verdict he pleases and carry it out.”

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Iran Air plane skids off runway at Stockholm

Press TV | Jan. 16, 2010
An Iran Air plane slid off the runway into the snow as it was about to leave Stockholm for Tehran on Saturday, an official with the airline said.

None of the 173 people, including 149 passengers, onboard Flight 762 were hurt, the official told Press TV on condition of anonymity.

An Arlanda Airport spokesman, Jan Lindqvist, said the plane had not been damaged as it was moving slowly.

“Some 100, 150 meters out on the runway (the plane) made a very slow turn and got stuck in the snow on the side of the runway,” he was quoted by AFP as saying.

The cause of the incident remains unknown.

The incident caused no major delays at Arlanda as the airport’s two other runways were kept open.

Mashai fly buzzing in Ahmadinejad’s ear

Tabnak | Ebrat | Jan. 16, 2010

A critical comment by Esfandiar Rahim Mashai about one the prophets prompted the Mashhad Friday Prayers leader to call the president’s right-hand man “a fly buzzing in the ear” of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

“We will not tolerate attacks on the principles of religion from any front or movement even if we are among [one of] its supporters,” said Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Ahmad Alamolhoda. “In our opinion, the insults hurled by the head of the presidential office [Mashai] at one of the great prophets [Noah], are on a par with an attack on the principles of religion.”

Alamolhoda was referring to Mashai’s remarks at the Kharazmi Medical Science Festival. “Why should someone talk about the management skills of prophets at a medical festival?” he asked. “Do you [Mashai] know these prophets? Who does he [Mashai] think he is to question the managerial skills of prophets?”

“Noah the prophet struggled for 950 years to save humanity and if it wasn’t for him humanity would have been extinct and it was thanks to Noah’s management that humanity was saved from extinction,” he explained.

“It’s better for you [Mashai] to study the Qoran. Do you even know what Jesus has done to be criticizing his managerial skills? Are you some kind of expert?” he said.

“The people voted for a pious, honest individual,” he said, referring to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, “and now someone [Mashai] stands beside him [Ahmadinejad] buzzing in his ear like a fly.”

“We warned the president [about Mashai] a long time ago,” he said.

Alamolhoda went on to stress that the nation stood by its vote and added, “We will not allow a fly to buzz in our president’s ear.”

During Ahmadinejad’s trip to Mashhad, Alamolhoda left the podium in the middle of his speech to protest Mashai’s presence.

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