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AP: "Iran's top leader warned the Arab world Wednesday not to allow Western powers and Israel to 'confiscate' the region's pro-reform uprisings, in comments that appear to reflect the Islamic republic's unease about their standing in a profoundly altered Middle East. Iran has tried to walk two paths since the pro-democracy rebellions began in February - lauding the popular revolts as modern-day heirs to Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, while maintaining relentless pressure on opposition groups at home. But Iran is at risk of serious political setbacks. Iran's main Mideast ally, Syria's Bashar Assad, is under growing international pressure for his fierce crackdown on anti-government protests. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a speech broadcast on Iran's state TV to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, reflected the added worries that the West and its allies could gain ground in the Arab Spring. 'Muslim nations in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen or other countries need vigilance today. They should not allow enemies confiscate the victories they've achieved,' Khamenei said. 'They should not forget that those who have come to the scene in Libya (U.S. and NATO) today and consider themselves owners of the uprising are the same people who used to sit and drink with those who once suppressed the Libyan nation.'" http://t.uani.com/ofkKv1
AFP: "France's President Nicolas Sarkozy warned on Wednesday that Iran's alleged attempts to build long-range missiles and nuclear weapons could lead unnamed countries to launch a pre-emptive attack. 'Its military nuclear and ballistic ambitions constitute a growing threat that may lead to a preventive attack against Iranian sites that would provoke a major crisis that France wants to avoid at all costs,' he said. Sarkozy did not say which country might launch such a strike, but it has been reported that Israel -- perhaps with US support -- has considered bombing Iranian nuclear sites if it believes Tehran is close to building a weapon. The French leader placed the blame for the crisis on Iran, which insists it has no intention of building a nuclear weapon, and is merely enriching nuclear fuel for medicial research and a domestic atomic energy programme. 'Iran refuses to negotiate seriously,' he told an annual meeting of French diplomats. 'Iran is carrying out new provocations in response to the challenge from the international community for it to provide a credible response.'" http://t.uani.com/otWl95
AP: "Under increased US pressure, an Iraqi crackdown on Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias has helped produce a previously elusive goal: For the first time since the US invasion of Iraq, an entire month has passed without a single US service member dying. The milestone is particularly remarkable because it comes after 14 troops were killed in July, making it the most deadly month for the Americans in three years; and it has occurred amid a frightening campaign of suicide bombings and assassinations from Sunni insurgents that killed hundreds of Iraqis, resurrecting the specter of the worst days of sectarian fighting... US military commanders attribute the drop in deaths to the Iraqi government's finally pushing back against Iran and the Shiite militias, and aggressive unilateral strikes by US forces." http://t.uani.com/qOjkee
Nuclear Program & Sanctions
Reuters: "An Iranian effort to show rare openness about its disputed nuclear programme is doing little to dispel Western suspicions about Tehran's atomic ambitions, with one Vienna-based envoy dismissing it as just a 'charm offensive.' Diplomats said they believed the U.N. nuclear watchdog would once again highlight concern about possible military aspects to Iran's nuclear activities in its latest quarterly report, due to be submitted to member states in the next few days. 'I expect it will be a bit tougher than the last one. Still a number of outstanding matters related to PMD (possible military dimensions) that Iran refuses to answer,' a Western envoy told Reuters on Thursday. Another diplomat painted a similar picture, saying Tehran had failed to address the IAEA's core concerns." http://t.uani.com/mOxWdB
AP: "Iran says the speaker of its parliament will visit North Korea to discuss 'expansion of cooperation' with Pyongyang. The trip underlines the close ties between the two nations. The U.S. has accused North Korea of providing Iran with advanced missiles capable of targeting European capitals. The Iranian parliament's website says the speaker, Ali Larijani, will arrive in Pyongyang for a three-day visit beginning Sunday. Iranian and North Korean officials have said in the past that the two countries are in 'one trench' in the fight against 'arrogant powers.' Both are bitter enemies of the U.S. and the West." http://t.uani.com/pCgoCY
Human Rights
Guardian: "Sunni Muslims in Tehran have been banned from congregating at prayers marking the end of Ramadan. Iran, a Shia country, ordered its Sunni minority not to hold separate prayers in Tehran for Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim festival that brings the month of fasting to an end. They were instead asked to have a Shia imam leading their prayers - something that is against their religious beliefs. Hundreds of security police were deployed in the capital to prevent Sunni worshippers from entering houses they rent for religious ceremonies. In recent decades, Iranian authorities have refused Sunnis permission to build their own mosques in Tehran. There is currently no Sunni mosque in the capital, despite there being several churches and synagogues for much smaller Christian and Jewish populations." http://t.uani.com/oHb5et
Domestic Politics
Radio Farda: "Iran's largest lake is dying, but it's giving new life to antigovernment protests along its receding shores. Lake Orumieh, one of the world's largest saltwater lakes, has shrunk by some 60 percent in recent years due to drought and misguided development policies. Environmentalists warn that unless something is done, the lake will disappear forever. This dire prospect has put locals who depend on the lake on edge. And seeing as the lake straddles the border of Iran's East and West Azerbaijan provinces, centers of the country's ethnic Azeri population that have a rich and volatile history of protest against Tehran, the central government is on edge too." http://t.uani.com/osD7Rg
Foreign Affairs
AFP: "Iran believes Saudi Arabia's security is linked to its own security, an Iranian foreign ministry official said Wednesday, reacting to a Saudi allegation that Tehran was 'targeting' the kingdom. 'Iran has always wanted the stability, peace and progress of Saudi Arabia,' the Fars news agency quoted the unidentified official as saying. 'The security of Saudi Arabia and Iran are linked and the Islamic Republic of Iran believes that the security of Saudi Arabia is like its own security,' the official said. Saudi Arabia's Al-Eqtissadiya daily on Monday quoted interior minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz as saying that the kingdom, which has been shaken by a wave of bloody attacks by Al-Qaeda, was still threatened by terrorism." http://t.uani.com/r8jQZr
Opinion & Analysis
Elliot Abrams in CFR: "Defenders of the royal family in Bahrain and its suppression of protests calling for greater democracy often claim that the protests are in fact Iranian-inspired and even Iranian-run. Needless to say, the leaders of the various protest movements deny this angrily. I have tended to view these Bahraini government claims as unreliable and probably false, for it is too easy simply to paint the (mostly Shia) opposition as unpatriotic and tied to the Iranian regime. But now there is evidence that in at least one case, the accusations are correct. The Evening Standard newspaper in London revealed this week that the 'Bahraini Freedom Movement' in London appears to be an Iranian front organization. The article states that: 'Saeed Shehabi, 56, runs the London-based Bahrain Freedom Movement, which seeks to topple the King of Bahrain's dictatorship. But today it can be revealed that Dr Shehabi has made speeches supporting Iranian hardliners, and worked for 13 years in offices owned by the government of Iran....A Standard investigation found that the offices near Old Street where Dr Shehabi worked for 13 years are owned by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. When he started working there in the Nineties it was owned by Proudrose Ltd. Records show Proudrose's mortgage was lent by the Iranian government and one of its directors, Dr Ali Helmi, is the cultural attaché at the Iranian Embassy in London.' These facts, and others noted by the Standard, suggest that Shehabi is no human rights activist nor a genuine proponent of democracy in Bahrain. They do not, of course, discredit the Bahraini opposition nor do they justify the ways in which it has been repressed--sometimes brutally--by the government. But they are a reminder that Iran is indeed mucking around in Bahraini politics and that Bahrain has a legitimate interest in preventing this. Moreover, they should elicit strong denunciations from every genuine human rights organization in Bahrain, for Shehabi has damaged the cause." http://t.uani.com/nbETA0
Bilal Y. Saab in CSM: "All of a sudden, Saudi Arabia finds itself facing a historic opportunity to greatly enhance its strategic position in the Middle East and perhaps even assume an undisputed leadership role in Arab politics. And this is hardly just an internal Saudi matter. The regional status of the kingdom is a matter of some importance to the United States and its policies in the Middle East. Given the (still solid) strategic alliance between the US and Saudi Arabia, it goes without saying that a more influential and assertive Riyadh helps Washington achieve its overall foreign policy goals in the region, most urgent of which is checking Iran's power and preventing it from becoming a nuclear power state. So what is this new Saudi opportunity all about? It starts in Syria... Since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, Saudi Arabia has focused all its efforts on fulfilling a single task in foreign policy: the containment of Tehran's power and influence in the region. Saudi Arabia's rulers saw (and continue to see) the world, almost exclusively, from the prism of the 'Shiite octopus.' Always reacting to Iranian moves, Saudi Arabia seemed behind, trying to limit Iranian advances and minimize costs as much as possible. Containing Iran was never easy because Tehran had done a masterful job projecting its power onto the Levant and Arab Gulf where the kingdom had vital political and security interests. After the 2003 Iraq War, containing Iran became much more difficult because the elimination of late Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, a longtime foe of the Iranians, offered Tehran a huge opportunity to dominate the politics and security of oil-rich Iraq. Iran's rise after the fall of Baghdad prompted leaders in the region, including King Abdullah II of Jordan, to speak of a 'Shiite Crescent.'" http://t.uani.com/nneSEm
George Stephanopoulos & Mitt Romney in ABC News: "Stephanopoulos: Sen. Clinton took to the Senate floor earlier this week and said the president does not have the authority he needs to take military action against Iran. Do you agree? | Former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass.: I don't know about the constitutional definition that Sen. Clinton is referring to. I think the president has whatever authority is necessary to protect this country and protect our troops. I think [the] Iranian military has been involved in the conflict in Iraq. Iranians have supported the attack on our soldiers. But I don't think for a minute that this president is intent on attacking Iran. That's not where we're aiming. That's not going to happen. We have no interest in going into Iran. But we do have interest in making sure that they do not develop additional nuclear technology and, in my view, that's where Sen. Clinton has gone off the right track. She's suggesting engaging with Iran. That's a timidity that's not right. This is a time to tighten our sanctions, economic, because they're having an impact, and to increase our diplomatic isolation of Iran and communicate to the Iranian people, as well as to its religious leadership that there is a downside to having fissile material in your country and, that is, if that material falls in the hands of terrorists who use it, that the world community is not going to just respond to the terrorists, it's going to respond to who provided that material. So we've got some education to do and we've got some tightening to do, but negotiation and engaging with the Iranians at this point is not the way to go and neither is invading them." http://t.uani.com/pBS30q |
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