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AP: "The U.S. dismissed Wednesday a recent offer by Iran to discuss its disputed nuclear program with world powers as a 'charm offensive,' saying Iran was 'flouting' its international obligations. The statement by Glyn Davies, chief U.S. delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency, comes before next week's U.N. General Assembly meeting. Davies said the Islamic republic's latest offer for talks fails to provide any fresh indications of an Iranian commitment to address international concerns that it could be working on nuclear warhead experiments. 'Stonewalling the IAEA, flouting U.N. Security Council obligations and mounting this most recent charm offensive do not reflect a good-faith effort to resolve those concerns,' Davies told reporters. Iran already is under four sets of Security Council sanctions for refusing to freeze uranium enrichment, as the U.S. and its Western allies have been demanding for years." http://t.uani.com/qYZ1jE
YnetNews: "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Israel of perpetuating terror, and blamed the 'Zionist regime' for starting both the first and second world wars. 'The Zionist regime is always doing the same thing. They destroy people's homes and raze them to the ground,' Ahmadinejad told the Washington Post on Tuesday. 'They have created a few major wars. They continue to assassinate and terrorize people; they continue their policy of coercion against other nations, including Iran.' The Iranian leader slammed the West for supporting the Jewish state, accusing the United States of sacrificing its 'whole population' for 'the interests of a few hundred Zionists.' 'I think an important question that must be answered is, why do all US administrations always support the Zionist regime?' Ahmadinejad pondered. 'The United States is 10,000 kilometers away from Palestine, and other nations in the region are against the Zionists, but the United States and its allies in Europe continue to support the Zionist regime. Why? ... I think you should have a referendum in the United States to see if the people want to use their resources and taxes for a number of killers,' he added. Dubbing Zionism 'A dreadful party, a feared party,' Ahmadinejad claimed that the movement 'was behind the First World War and the Second World War. Whenever there is a conflict or war - this party is behind it.'" http://t.uani.com/qdL5Vf
WSJ: "The Gulf state of Oman dispatched a private plane to Iran Wednesday amid efforts toward a bail-for-freedom deal for two Americans jailed for spying-in a possible replay of the diplomatic exchange that freed a third member of the group last year. The Omani official gave no further details on any possible timetable for the release of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, who were detained along the Iran-Iraq border in July 2009 with their friend, Sarah Shourd. The Omani intervention suggested movement on the complicated judicial and diplomatic dealings over the total $1 million bail, which was thrown into doubt earlier Wednesday when Iran's judiciary said the deal still needed review. A plane sent by Oman's sultan brought Ms. Shourd from Iran last September after payment of $500,000 bail. Oman has close ties with both Tehran and Washington, and plays a strategic role in the region by sharing control with Iran of the Strait of Hormouz at the mouth of the Gulf, which is the route for 40% of the world's oil tanker traffic... Earlier Wednesday, Iran's powerful judiciary clouded the case by saying it was still reviewing the bail provisions. It was a potentially embarrassing rejection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's prediction that their release could come in a matter of days." http://t.uani.com/pcg4s1
Nuclear Program & Sanctions
Reuters: "Belarus is the latest country that Western powers suspect of helping Iran skirt U.N. sanctions aimed at preventing it from expanding its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, Western diplomats told Reuters. If the suspicions are confirmed, the already isolated Belarus would join China, Russia, Syria, North Korea, Turkey and other states Western powers believe have helped Tehran flout U.N. measures since the Security Council adopted its first sanctions resolution against Iran in late 2006. The suspicions were expected to be raised during a visit by several members of a U.N. panel of experts to Belarus this month to discuss compliance with the U.N. ban on selling Iran nuclear and missile technology, diplomats said... Diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Belarus is beginning to act as a kind of middleman to help secure the Iranians access to Russian technology. 'Belarus is becoming a key element in Iran's efforts to develop its SSM (surface-to-surface missile) and nuclear capabilities, especially with regard to navigation and guidance products, which are defined as dual-use,' a diplomat said." http://t.uani.com/mQWIpH
Human Rights
LAT: "There will certainly be bigger sales, dollar wise, at the Toronto International Film Festival this year, but perhaps only the deal announced Wednesday can be said to represent a blow against a repressive regime. That's when distributor Palisades Tartan said it had acquired U.S. and British rights to 'This Is Not a Film,' Iranian director Jafar Panahi's non-movie movie that he made after being sentenced last year to six years in prison and was banned from making films for 20 years. 'This Is Not a Film' was shot entirely in Panahi's apartment, partially on an iPhone, and the footage was sneaked out of the country on a USB drive hidden in a cake for a last-minute submission to the Cannes Film Festival in May. It played last week at the Toronto fest." http://t.uani.com/mR9lLn
Reuters: "Clad head-to-toe in black -- the international uniform of heavy metal -- Mahyar Dean looks the archetype hard rock guitar hero. But along with the mandatory Marshall amplifier and out-sized drum kit, his group, Angband, also boasts a couple of goatskin percussion instruments that have been a familiar part of Persian music for centuries. In a country where western music is banned, Dean is part of Iran's booming underground scene -- making rock, Iranian style... But as Iranian as Angband wants to be, it has had to look further afield to get its music released, signing with a German label, Pure Steel Records. To be produced within Iran, music must be approved by the Ministry of Culture and Guidance, which checks lyrics and music to ensure they conform to the moral standards deemed acceptable in the Islamic Republic." http://t.uani.com/pqZN3S
Foreign Affairs
FT: "As Syria's foes intensify pressure on Bashar al-Assad, its friends are adopting a new tune, appealing to the president to embrace reforms and buy time for his embattled regime. The most curious call for political progress is now coming from Iran, Syria's main strategic ally in the Middle East. Political analysts say the change of rhetoric reflects Iran's nervousness over Mr Assad's management of the six-month popular uprising. It is also a tactical move designed to limit the damage to Iran's image in a region where it styles itself as a champion of the oppressed. Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, the president who was himself accused of stealing the 2009 election, sparking an unprecedented wave of street protests, has spoken of 'needed reforms' in Syria. More explicitly, Ali-Akbar Salehi, the foreign minister, has called on Mr Assad to 'be accountable to his people's legitimate demands.'" http://t.uani.com/nkzm5b
Reuters: "Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would visit the South American country this month, a move that could exacerbate tensions between Caracas and Washington. The leftist Venezuelan president told reporters his Iranian counterpart would visit after next week's meeting of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. 'After New York, he's coming here,' Chavez said, without giving more details. Both fierce anti-U.S. ideologues, Ahmadinejad and Chavez have become close political and commercial allies in recent years. The two countries are allies within OPEC." http://t.uani.com/pphvur
Opinion & Analysis
Amb. Mark Wallace in Newsday: "For the first time since the Taliban-led Afghanistan government provided the home base for Osama bin Laden's attacks on America, a nation has been directly identified as a state sponsor of al-Qaida. That country is Iran. Unfortunately, our collective response to Iran's support of the most reviled terror group on Earth lags far behind the universal condemnation the Afghan government received 10 years ago. The world's economic powers and their leading companies still do business in Iran -- all while it provides al-Qaida with financing, safe harbor, weapons and training. And Iran is aggressively attempting to build a nuclear weapon. In July, the Treasury Department formally accused Iran of allying with al-Qaida and establishing a deal to let the organization use Iran as a place to transfer money, weapons and fighters to bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan. This follows recent reports that operatives such as Saif al-Adel, the organization's chief military strategist, have been operating out of Iran with impunity. Previously, it was widely assumed that the Shia Muslims in Iran would have little to do with radical Sunni Muslims like al-Qaida. This theory has now been debunked. In commenting on the relationship, David Cohen, the U.S. Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, remarked: 'By exposing Iran's secret deal with al-Qaida, allowing it to funnel funds and operatives through its territory, we are illuminating yet another aspect of Iran's unmatched support for terrorism.' How should America respond? To start, it should instill in the world's business psyche the principle that any activity companies do in or with Iran is tantamount to trading with the enemy. Multinational corporations should have the sense to pull out of Iran. Nokia, Fiat and CMA-CGM are three prominent international companies that do business in Iran and the United States. If companies fail to act responsibly, then they should not be rewarded with lucrative government contracts funded by taxpayer dollars." http://t.uani.com/oYqHIR
Amb. Mark Wallace in The Times of London: "In the past year a growing consensus has emerged that Iran is training and arming Taleban insurgents responsible for hundreds of deaths of Nato soldiers in Afghanistan. Yet prominent European companies continue to do business with the Iranian regime. In March British Special Forces intercepted a Taleban convoy carrying dozens of 122mm rockets made in Iran. More recently, Taleban commanders told this newspaper that hundreds of insurgents have been to Iran for training in bombing and ambush techniques. Tehran has also supplied them with large quantities of IEDs. Last year was the bloodiest on record for Nato in Afghanistan: alongside heavy US and British losses, Italy and Germany lost 15 soldiers each, France 27. But while they were dying, corporations in their countries continued to do business with Iran. Consider Siemens. After the fallout from the engineering conglomerate's sale of surveillance technology to Iran during its crackdown on election protesters, it promised to end its business with the Islamic Republic. But Siemens' Iran revenue has jumped to almost $1 billion, much from sales to the state-dominated oil and gas sector. Eni, the Italian oil conglomerate, continues to invest in Iranian energy, including purchases of crude that amounted to $2 billion last year. The French shipping giant CMA CGM has been caught three times attempting to ship smuggled weapons to and from Iran, including mortar shells and missile components. European executives are fond of saying that these business activities don't technically violate EU or UN sanctions. Yet key sectors of the Iranian economy, such as energy and construction, are dominated by the Revolutionary Guards responsible for training international terrorist groups.These businesses are engaged in a hypocrisy that gravely insults the memory of their fallen countrymen." http://t.uani.com/po8QrU
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