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AP: "Iran's president said Friday that Egypt's popular uprising shows a new Islamic Middle East is emerging, one that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claims will have no signs of Israel and U.S. 'interference.' The Iranian leader spoke as the country marked the 32nd anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the pro-U.S. shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and brought hardline clerics to power... 'Despite all the (West's) complicated and satanic designs ... a new Middle East is emerging without the Zionist regime and U.S. interference, a place where the arrogant powers will have no place,' Ahmadinejad told the crowd. He also urged Egyptian protesters to persevere until there is a regime change. 'It's your right to be free. It's your right to exercise your will and sovereignty ... and choose the type of government and the rulers.' After his address, Ahmadinejad carried a placard reading, 'Death to Israel.'" http://t.uani.com/eEFU5U
NYT: "Iran's authorities have increased pressure on the country's political opposition days before a rally proposed by opposition leaders in support of the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. Security forces stationed outside the home of the reformist cleric Mehdi Karroubi, one of the country's most prominent opposition leaders, prevented Mr. Karroubi's son from seeing his father on Thursday, according to the son, Hossein. In an interview with an Arabic-language news Web site, Al Arabiya, Hossein Karroubi, who is politically active, said that the security forces told him that other family members, except his mother, were also barred from seeing his father. The elder Mr. Karroubi and another government critic, Mir Hussein Moussavi, had submitted a formal request to the government to hold the rally on Feb. 14. Opposition Web sites have also reported the arrest of a number of people associated with the two opposition leaders." http://t.uani.com/fuK8z5
Bloomberg: "Iran is keeping its options open on building nuclear weapons by pursuing 'various nuclear capabilities,' the U.S. intelligence chief said today. The U.S. does not know if Iran will ultimately build weapons, but its programs 'position it' to do so, said James Clapper, President Barack Obama's director of national intelligence. 'There is a real risk that its nuclear program will prompt other countries in the Middle East to pursue nuclear options,' he said in testimony before the House Select Committee on Intelligence. Iran will build weapons 'if its leaders choose' to proceed, he said." http://t.uani.com/fWDslK
Taxi of Tomorrow Campaign Hurriyet Daily News: "An advertising campaign targeting Nissan and Turkish company Karsan in their bids to supply the "taxis of tomorrow" for New York City alleges the two companies have business ties with Iran. The campaign, sponsored by an Iran-focused coalition, calls on New Yorkers to petition the mayor to not choose either company... The group claims Karsan exports vans to Iran in cooperation with the local Sanat Khuorda Kamau company and does business with the National Iranian Gas Company. Karsan told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in an official statement that it has no current business relations with Iran, admitting that the company has traded with companies within the Islamic Republic in the past. 'Karsan's current and former trade activities would not create any legal obstacles in the New York taxis tender,' the statement said. A Karsan executive, meanwhile, who declined to give his name, said Karsan stopped selling vans to Iran in 2008. The only relationship between the National Iranian Gas Company and Karsan was that the Iranian company published a filing by Karsan to the Istanbul Stock Exchange, or ISE, on its website, he said. UANI in January called on New York City to refuse to award the Taxi of Tomorrow contract to companies that conduct business in Iran." http://t.uani.com/eRo9Ci
Today's Zaman: "Metro New York, a free sheet tabloid published for the New York metropolitan area, has run an advertisement implying that Turkish light commercial vehicle manufacturer Karsan has business ties with Iran. Karsan, Nissan of Japan and Ford have been named finalists in the 'Taxi of Tomorrow' contest to manufacture New York City's next taxicab. The advertisement, run by a group called United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), appealed to its readers to pressure New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to leave two companies -- Karsan and Nissan -- out of the competition and in a cartoon depicted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sitting in the front seat of a cab. Metro New York -- circulated Monday through Friday largely at subways and bus stations -- has a sizable reader base. UANI President Mark D. Wallace noted in a press conference that companies involved in trade activities with Iran should not be rewarded by winning the competition. 'The mayor should not support these companies,' he added, referring to Karsan and Nissan." http://t.uani.com/eZmeTF
Nuclear Program & Sanctions
AFP: "Iran's atomic body claimed on Thursday it has mastered the technology of nuclear fusion, in a declaration on the eve of the 32nd anniversary of the Islamic revolution. 'By the method of inertial confinement lasers, significant research has been successfully conducted in the field of nuclear fusion,' the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran said on its website. Without saying that an actual fusion experiment had been successfully carried out, it stated that 'a machine to make nuclear fusion laser was manufactured by the faculty of science and technology at the AEOI.' 'With the manufacture of this machine... Iran becomes the sixth country to master this technology,' after United States, Japan, France, Australia and South Korea, it said. In July, Iran said it was looking into how to build an experimental nuclear fusion reactor, adding that if successful it would be the first such plant in the world." http://t.uani.com/dZQWTg
AP: "A British court has approved the extradition to the United States of a man who allegedly plotted to sell missile components to Iran. A retired British businessman Christopher Tappin has denied the allegations. Judge John Zani ruled on Friday that Tapping could be extradited, subject to confirmation by the government's Home Secretary. U.S. authorities say Tappin offered in 2006 to sell five specialized batteries for Hawk missiles for $25,000, not knowing that his contacts were undercover U.S. agents instead of Iranians." http://t.uani.com/hftAra
Commerce
Bloomberg: "Turkish President Abdullah Gul will travel to Iran on Feb. 13 with a delegation of more than 100 businesspeople seeking trade opportunities, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported. The delegation will meet with Iranian business leaders in the cities of Tehran, Isfahan and Tabriz, Anatolia said. On Feb. 14, Gul and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will speak at a Turkish-Iranian business forum, it said. Turkey and Iran are experiencing 'a golden age' in trade relations, partly because United Nations and U.S. sanctions are driving more business to Iran through Turkey, said Riza Amuzgar, head of the Turkish-Iranian council at Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board, according to Anatolia." http://t.uani.com/hHRV20
Human Rights
AFP: "The Berlin film festival will honour dissident Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi, who was sentenced to prison in December, on the anniversary of the Islamic revolution Friday. Following tributes in Cannes and Venice, Berlin invited Panahi to serve on its jury. But though he is free on bail after receiving a six-year jail sentence and a 20-year film-making ban, he is barred from travelling abroad. The 61st Berlinale, as the event in known, has held a place open on the jury, chaired by Italian-American actress Isabella Rossellini, for Panahi 'to show its support for his struggle for freedom.' 'We are still hoping that he will be able to come. We haven't given up,' the Italian-American actress told reporters at the festival's opening news conference Thursday, as she sat next to his vacant chair." http://t.uani.com/eWNdpk
CNN: "The United States slammed Iran's 'hypocrisy' for arresting opposition figures and the blocking of world media outlets as TV networks focus their attention on the uprising in Egypt and the widespread unrest in other parts of the Arab world. 'For all of its empty talk about Egypt, the government of Iran should allow the Iranian people the same universal right to peacefully assemble, demonstrate and communicate in Tehran that the people are exercising in Cairo,' National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said Friday. 'Governments must respect the rights of their people and be responsive to their aspirations.'" http://t.uani.com/fO2wFn
CNN: "It is a bad time to be a Baha'i in Iran, American adherents of the faith say. The religion, founded in Iran in 1844, is now considered heretical by Iranian authorities. Its 300,000 adherents in the country 'may face repression on the grounds of apostasy,' according to the annual report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. On Wednesday, Iraj Kamalabadi and other Baha'is came to Washington to tell the commission just how bad things are for his sister, Fariba Kamalabadi, and six others who have been imprisoned because of their faith since 2008... 'Our hope is for the commission to continue to support this within their power and do whatever they could do to shed light on what's going on in Iran with the Baha'i community,' he said." http://t.uani.com/eK3fu5
Domestic Politics
Reuters: "Simultaneous explosions on three gas pipelines jolted the nearby holy Shi'ite city of Qom, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Friday. According to Mehr the explosions occurred at 5:50 a.m. local time (0220 GMT) in the town of Salafchegan, in Iran's central Qom province. Qom itself was shaken by the blasts and the red glow from explosions was seen in the south western sky above the city, Mehr said... Mehr said the blasts had caused unease. Rumours were spreading due to what it called an inappropriate flow of information on the incidents." http://t.uani.com/hDgtu1
Foreign Affairs
Reuters: "Iran is electronically jamming the BBC's Persian language television broadcasts over its coverage of the mass protests in Egypt, Britain's state broadcaster said on Friday. The interference began on Thursday evening after the BBC's Iranian service showed extensive rolling news coverage from the demonstrations against President Hosni Mubarak. 'It is believed that it is the impact of this coverage which has prompted the jamming,' the BBC said in a statement. 'Satellite technicians have traced that interference and have confirmed it is coming from Iran.' The BBC said it suspected the Iranian authorities may have acted after an interactive TV show allowed Iranian and Egyptian viewers to exchange their views on the crisis." http://t.uani.com/gCFxOt
Opinion & Analysis
Globe & Mail Editorial Board: "A Canadian resident is facing the death penalty in execution-happy Iran, as the Islamic regime seeks to frighten its people from taking to the streets. Having been in prison since October, 2008, on a possibly fabricated charge of running obscene websites, Saeed Malekpour, 35, may now be caught up in larger world events... At least 66 people were executed in Iran in January, including three members of banned political parties, according to the United Nations. An Iranian human-rights group puts the number at 121. Either way, the pace of executions is high, even by Iran's standards. It may be an attempt to let terrorize people and thus pre-empt protests. 'The identity of the victim matters less than the fact they're killing people at high rates,' says Professor Payam Akhavan of McGill University. 'The message is: This regime is here to stay and you should be very fearful of the regime.' A televised confession, a year in solitary confinement, a lack of due process or legal representation, a complaint of torture - the case of Saeed Malekpour, who has permanent resident status in Canada, bears the depressingly familiar hallmarks of Iranian justice. A society that executes people for allegedly running obscene websites is odious enough. A seeming campaign of executions to intimidate the public is a sign that the regime fears its days are numbered. Canada has been denied permission to see Mr. Malekpour on humanitarian grounds. It needs to continue to speak forcefully, and publicly, about Iran's outrageous behaviour." http://t.uani.com/gQJdKO
Stephen Schwartz in The Weekly Standard: "In times of economic and social dislocation, conspiracy theories abound. The sudden uncertainty of events drives ordinary people as well as pseudo-intellectuals, in countries all over the world, to seek explanations for newly revealed political and financial problems in 'magical thinking,' blaming the unexpected anxieties of their lives on hidden, dark powers. While convoluted 'explanations' for national and world events have proliferated lately in the West, conspiracy theories have long flourished in the lands of Islam. The clerical misrulers of Iran have particular incentives to indulge in conspiracy thinking. Their own people have clearly repudiated them, and the news from Tunisia and Egypt indicates that Sunni as well as Shia Muslims are overcome by yearning for freedom. Iran's ruling caste is anxious to project before the global public its particular 'interpretation' of the Egyptian turmoil, to its own advantage. Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared in his Friday sermon on February 4 that Tunisian dictator Zine Al-Abedine Ben Ali was overthrown because of his secularism. Hardline Tehran propagandist Hossein Shariatmadari, of the daily newspaper Keyhan, has joined those who see the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions as purely Islamist, and has proclaimed that the motive of the Egyptian protesters is to attack Israel. But Iranian opposition presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Moussavi has noted the parallel confrontations between the state power and social media in the Iranian post-election protests of 2009 and the Egyptian upheaval. In both countries, the dictatorship tried to suppress popular anger by arresting dissenters and shutting down cyberspace networks. Moussavi called on Iranians to pray for the success of the Egyptian and other protesters in Arab countries. Still, the Iranian government has recourse to video propaganda no less than to preaching and editorials. As 2010 drew to a close, Iranian national television began broadcasting a new 'docu-drama' series, titled Secrets of Armageddon 4: Project Ghosts, which I will abbreviate, for the reader's sake, as Secrets 4. Produced for the "news desk" of Iran's Sima TV network, the program is a compendium of conspiracy theories arguing that Jews and Freemasons control the West (old, old nonsense)." http://t.uani.com/g1fDtZ
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