Eye on Iran: Iranian Diplomat Rejected by US Implicated in Italian Murder

Join UANI           Top Stories Daily Telegraph: "An Iranian diplomat that America is refusing to accept as Tehran's next ambassador to the United Nations was implicated in the death of an Iranian dissident in Rome in the 1990s, court documents obtained by The Daily Telegraph reveal. Hamid Abutalebi was accused of overseeing the alleged assassination by Iranian agents of Mohammad Hossein Naghdi in Rome in 1993 where he had been the Iranian ambassador to Italy until the previous year. The White House declared Mr Abutalebi's nomination to head the Islamic Republic's UN delegation 'not viable' on Tuesday, effectively announcing that he would not be granted a visa to enter the US.  Iran reacted angrily to the announcement from Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, which came after the US Senate adopted a resolution calling on the Obama administration to deny Mr Abutalebi a visa for his role as one of the hostage takers who stormed the American embassy after the revolution in 1979. In fact, allegations against Mr Abutalebi are much more recent. Court papers, including transcripts of interviews conducted by the Caribineri during the investigation into Naghdi's death, allege that he played a key role in covert operations in the 1990s. Mr Naghdi was a former Iranian diplomat who worked at Tehran's Rome embassy under the Shah. In 1982, angered by the suppression of dissidents after the revolution, he defected to the opposition People's Mujahadeen, which is hated by the Islamic Republic. Mr Naghdi was shot on a Rome street in a murder that has never been solved. Investigations continued into the case until 2008 when the Rome Appeals Court published evidence, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, that the Iranian state had ordered his death. Abolghasem Mesbahi, a former Iranian intelligent agent based in Germany, alleged to the police investigation that the agent sent from Tehran to kill Mr Naghdi was supervised and controlled in Italy by Mr Abutalebi. He alleged that the ambassador had been involved in the mission alongside Amir Mansur Assl Bozorgian, the head of Iranian intelligence in Rome." http://t.uani.com/1mZjoKF AP: "Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday his country and six world powers are in '50 to 60 percent agreement' on the shape of a deal meant to crimp any potential Iranian attempt to build nuclear arms in exchange for an end to crippling economic sanctions. Speaking for the six, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was less upbeat as the talks reached the half-way mark toward their informal July deadline. But she said that after several rounds of exploratory talks the two sides were now ready to bridge remaining gaps standing in the way of agreement. The talks paused until May 13 amid stern warnings from Iran's supreme leader, whose message has varied over the past months between support for the discussions and accusations of bad-faith negotiating on the part of the United States and its allies." http://t.uani.com/PUsFG0 Guardian: "The chief of Iran's judiciary has accused the EU of spreading homosexuality and promiscuity in the country after the European parliament warned human rights abuses have continued under Hassan Rouhani's new administration. Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, who heads the Islamic Republic's powerful judicial system, defended Tehran's record on human rights on Wednesday, denying it had executed juveniles or imprisoned Bahá'í citizens on the basis of their religious faith. To the dismay of Iranian leaders, the European parliament passed a resolution last week which condemned 'continued, systematic violation of fundamental rights' in Iran and urged diplomats to put a spotlight on human rights in their negotiations with the Islamic republic. Iran has reacted angrily to the declaration, with its foreign ministry describing it as 'unfounded and unacceptable.' ... Larijani said: 'The Bahá'í faith is made up by the west to interfere with the Muslim countries but despite this no Bahá'í is persecuted in Iran just for being Bahá'í.' The judiciary chief said those in prison are convicted of espionage or national security charges. Iran often arrests ordinary Bahá'ís or members of its opposition on vague charges of acting against national security or spreading propaganda against the ruling system. The ayatollah said: 'They [the Europeans] want to normalise promiscuity and forcing homosexuality on us but these behaviours are not compatible with human [nature] and Islamic lifestyle.'" http://t.uani.com/1k8yN8A        Nuclear Program & Negotiations Reuters: "Iran has made a proposal that would significantly lower plutonium production at a planned reactor, a senior Iranian official was quoted as saying, signalling flexibility on a key issue in talks to end the nuclear dispute with world powers. The comment by Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's atomic energy organisation, was the latest sign that a compromise may be possible over the Arak research reactor, which the West fears could yield weapons-usable material... The website of Iran's English-language state television Press TV, citing Salehi late on Wednesday, said Iran had offered a 'scientific and logical proposal to clear up any ambiguities' over the Arak reactor. 'In our plan, we explained that we would redesign the heart of the Arak reactor, so that its production of plutonium will decrease drastically,' Salehi was quoted as saying." http://t.uani.com/1jwd4GE Reuters: "Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday he had authorized nuclear talks with world powers including arch-foe the United States just to prove Iran's peaceful intentions, but Tehran would not be bullied and would not stop atomic research. He added in remarks to nuclear scientists that Iran should continue the discussions to end a dispute over nuclear work the West fears is aimed at developing a bomb, but Iran's negotiators should not cede any gains made by its nuclear program. 'Americans are well aware we are not after nuclear weapons, but they still raise the charges every now and then to keep up the anti-Iran hype,' Khamenei told a group of nuclear scientists and officials who gathered to mark Iran's 'Nuclear Technology Day,' an important event in Iranian calendar. 'That's why I agreed to the government's initiative to negotiate, just to break the hype and expose the truth to world opinion,' he said, referring to moderate President Hassan Rouhani's diplomatic overture to the West after his landslide election last June. Khamenei, who wields near absolute power in Iran, warned however that there was a limit to how far the Islamic Republic would go to satisfy its adversaries on the nuclear issue. 'No, Our pursuit of nuclear science will never halt. We will not cede any of our gains in nuclear research and development and our negotiators must not allow the other side to bully Iran,' he said, as quoted by the official IRNA news agency. 'The decision to negotiate doesn't mean we will backtrack on the issue.'" http://t.uani.com/1kNHKmo WSJ: "Iran and six major powers wrapped up a third round of nuclear talks Wednesday with the parties saying a solution to the decade-old standoff remains possible by July but that the toughest work has barely begun. This week's talks marked the halfway point in the five-month period Iran and the six powers fixed to seal a comprehensive nuclear agreement... However, it was clear from Iranian officials on Wednesday they were at least publicly sticking to lines that could scuttle an agreement. Mr. Zarif told reporters that Iran won't stop operating any of its nuclear plants, and that the 'nuclear technology possessed by the Islamic Republic will be maintained.' Iranian media cited Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying that while he remained supportive of talks, Iran wouldn't accept restraints on its nuclear research and development work." http://t.uani.com/1ixJs8H Press TV (Iran): "Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Iran will not allow its defensive military program to be tied to the nuclear talks with the six world powers. 'We emphasize that topics that have to do with Iran's defense program have no place in these negotiations,' Zarif told Iranian reporters in Vienna on Wednesday, the Fars News Agency reported. He said Iran will continue its civilian nuclear activity and nothing could be imposed on the Islamic Republic in this regard." http://t.uani.com/1edvk8B Sanctions Relief Reuters: "Iran's main bourse is in talks to share its trading data with Thomson Reuters Corp. once the main sanctions on the republic are lifted, according to the head of the Tehran Stock Exchange. The discussions between the New York-based financial information company and the Tehran exchange are the latest evidence of how keen foreign companies are to enter the frontier market, if and when Iran is permanently reintegrated into the global economy. Under a deal agreed late last year between Iran and six global powers, Western countries have already eased economic sanctions on Iran for the first six months of this year. Hassan Qalibaf, chief executive of the Tehran Stock Exchange, confirmed a meeting had taken place with Thomson Reuters representatives on Wednesday this week during a visit by its officials to London. 'They are interested in disseminating the trading data of the Tehran capital market,' he said, during an interview with The Wall Street Journal in the U.K. capital. A spokeswoman for Thomson Reuters confirmed the meeting and said it was 'used to express mutual interest in exploring potential business opportunities should sanctions permit...No agreement of any type was discussed.'" http://t.uani.com/1k8xXsC RFE/RL: "Russia has rejected U.S. warnings against signing an oil-for-goods contract with Iran. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow wouldn't be intimidated by threats. Quoted by the state RIA Novosti news agency on April 9, Ryabkov said that an increase in Russian-Iranian trade was a 'natural process that doesn't involve any elements of political or economic challenge to anyone.' Ryabkov said he was unaware of any specific agreements, adding that a 'normal exchange of opinions with Iranian colleagues has been going on to determine which sectors of economy are best suited for further development of ties.' The Russian business daily 'Kommersant' has reported that Moscow plans to buy 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil a day." http://t.uani.com/1hDvq4n Human Rights RFE/RL: "Call it 'Moral Kombat.' A computer game that encouraged players to shoot digital effigies of Iran's opposition leaders appears to have been removed from a website after it sparked controversy in the Islamic republic. The game, titled 'The Return of Mokhtar,' allows players to accrue 'wisdom' points by targeting opposition leader Mir Hossein Musavi, his wife Zahra Rahnavard, former reformist President Mohammad Khatami, and others. 'Some time ago a game related to the assassination of [Iranian President Hassan] Rohani was available in the market for a while. The publishing of such games raises the question whether there is any kind of supervision,' the popular Fararu.com website wrote earlier this week... Symbols of the United States, Great Britain, and Israel are also among the targets that the game's users must destroy in order to increase their score." http://t.uani.com/1ixGjFS RWB: "Reporters Without Borders hails last week's European Parliament resolution on European Union strategy towards Iran. For the first time, the European Parliament has displayed a clear desire to take human rights into account in the EU's relations with Iran. Adopted on 3 April, the resolution 'calls on Iran to cooperate with international human rights bodies and its own NGOs,' supports 'the urgent call of 772 Iranian journalists on the Iranian President to live up to his promise and allow the reopening of the Association of Iranian Journalists,' and urges the European Union 'to mainstream human rights in all aspects of its relations with Iran.' 'We welcome this initiative stressing human rights in relations with Iran,' said Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire. 'The measures envisaged in this resolution are a starting point. A counter-weight to the issue of Iran's nuclear programme and the defence of European economic interests, they form a basis for taking account of fundamental freedoms in bilateral talks.' ... The mullah-led regime has reacted with virulence towards article 17 of the resolution, which says that 'any future Parliament delegations to Iran should be committed to meeting members of the political opposition and civil society activists, and to having access to political prisoners.'" http://t.uani.com/1mZgIfP Foreign Affairs Bloomberg: "The U.S. House will vote today on a bill that seeks to block Iran's choice for its next ambassador to the United Nations from entering the U.S. House leaders will try to pass by unanimous consent the measure that the Senate approved April 7, according to a senior Republican leadership aide who requested anonymity to speak about a vote that hadn't been formally announced. Efforts to improve decades-long strained ties between the U.S. and Iran have been damaged by the Islamic Republic's choice of Hamid Aboutalebi as its next UN envoy. Aboutalebi has been linked to a student group that led the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehren in 1979 and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. The U.S. responded to the takeover by breaking diplomatic ties with Iran." http://t.uani.com/1n7NTv0 WSJ: "Iran's government reaffirmed its intention to appoint a senior diplomat with ties to the 1979 hostage crisis as its next ambassador to the United Nations, complicating efforts by Tehran and Washington to improve relations and reach a compromise on the future of Iran's nuclear program. The growing dispute over the nomination of Hamid Aboutalebi underscored the vastly differently perceptions and assumptions on each side more than 30 years after the U.S. severed diplomatic ties in the wake of Iran's Islamic revolution... 'We announced to the Americans one of our most rational and experienced diplomats as our United Nations envoy,' Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told state media Wednesday in Vienna, where he was taking part in negotiations with the U.S. and other world powers aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear capabilities. 'The government of the U.S. is well aware that this kind of behavior is by no means acceptable for us,' he added, referring to Washington's threat to deny Mr. Aboutalebi a visa." http://t.uani.com/1etMc5L RFE/RL: "Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has met in Tehran with his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rohani, to discuss strengthening cooperation between their two countries and the status of the Caspian Sea. Four agreements were signed at the April 9 meeting, the most significant concerning construction of hydropower plants and protection of the environment. Representatives of the two countries signed a deal to construct and operate the Ordubad hydropower plant in Azerbaijan and the Marazad plant across the border in Iran." http://t.uani.com/PUufb4 AFP: "Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz will travel to Israel and Iran later this month, the ministry announced on Wednesday, as talks on Tehran's disputed nuclear programme ended in Vienna. 'A date has not been set but the trip to Iran will probably be in late April,' ministry spokesman Martin Weiss told AFP. He did not give any other details about the trips. Iranian media earlier reported that Kurz would be travelling to Tehran on April 26." http://t.uani.com/1i4NskF Opinion & Analysis David Petraeus & Vance Serchuk in WashPost: "Advocates of the effort to reach a negotiated settlement with Iran over its illicit nuclear activities have emphasized the benefits an agreement could bring by peacefully and verifiably barring Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Skeptics, meanwhile, have warned of the risks of a 'bad deal,' under which Iran's capabilities are not sufficiently rolled back. Largely absent from the debate, however, has been a fuller consideration of the strategic implications a nuclear agreement could have on the U.S. position in the Middle East. Such an assessment must begin by considering the consequences of lifting the majority of sanctions on Iran - and of Iran resuming normal trade with the world's major economies. This prospect is what provides our strongest leverage to persuade the Iranian government to abandon key elements of its nuclear program. But lifting sanctions would also lead to the economic empowerment of a government that is the leading state sponsor of terrorism. Indeed, even under crippling sanctions, Iran has managed to provide robust support to extremist proxies as part of its broader geopolitical agenda across the Middle East and beyond - activities antithetical to U.S. interests and to those of our closest allies. It is possible that a nuclear deal would pave the way to a broader detente in Iran's relations with the United States and its neighbors. It is, however, more plausible that removing sanctions would strengthen Tehran's ability to project malign influence in its near-abroad, including Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, the Arabian peninsula and the Palestinian territories. Rather than marking the end of our long struggle with Iran, therefore, a successful nuclear deal could result in the United States and our partners in the Middle East facing a better-resourced and, in some respects, more dangerous adversary. This does not mean we should abandon diplomacy with Tehran. Preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons ought to be our foremost priority, and a diplomatic agreement that truly bolts the door against that danger is worth potential downsides. Moreover, the alternative to successful diplomacy - military action - carries its own set of costs and risks to regional stability and the global economy. And military action holds less promise for decisively ending the nuclear threat than does a good negotiated accord. But we need to recognize there are genuine trade-offs involved in even the best possible nuclear deal - and start laying the groundwork for mitigating them. To that end, five actions should be considered. First, it is imperative to make clear there can be no true reconciliation between Iran and the United States, regardless of the outcome of the nuclear talks, without a comprehensive change in Iran's destabilizing regional behavior. Such a message - delivered publicly, unambiguously and consistently - would help eliminate the corrosive, and inaccurate, perception that Washington is so eager to disengage from the Middle East that it would accept Iranian hegemony there. Second, the United States should intensify dialogue with our Arab and Israeli allies to develop a common understanding about how to contend with an economically strengthened Iran in the wake of a nuclear deal. Because sanctions relief would bolster Tehran's capability to train, finance and equip its terrorist proxies, we and our partners in the region must start preparing to intensify our efforts to identify, disrupt and dismantle these networks. Third, the United States needs to look hard at its position on Syria, arguably now the central front in a broader struggle for primacy in the Middle East. Recent reports that the Obama administration has been considering various forms of increased support to the Syrian opposition - including providing a limited number of strategically significant weapons systems - are encouraging. These reports, if true, would reflect recognition that a much more robust, focused and well-resourced effort is required to reverse the Assad regime's current battlefield momentum, which it has achieved in large part due to Iranian help." http://t.uani.com/1eop2mU Tom Wilson in Commentary: "Listening to members of the administration talk about Iran's nuclear program, it's often difficult to tell quite what kind of timescale they think we're on. At the beginning of his first term, President Obama gave the impression of having all the time in the world, and he has certainly used enough of it; during the course of which Iran has only lurched increasingly closer to having weapons capabilities. Understandably, countries in the region that are easily within range of a nuclear Iran-particularly Israel and the Sunni Gulf states-are a little more nervous. What is indeed concerning is the way that the administration's estimates for when Iran could reach breakout capabilities keep on changing, and not for the better. Secretary of State John Kerry is now saying that the U.S. believes Iran to be two months away from having breakout levels of enriched uranium. Yet, much less than a year ago the administration was claiming that we were at least a year or more away from that point. So either the administration's estimates are inaccurate and unreliable or in the period since sanctions were partially lifted and negotiations began Iran has massively advanced in its program. Neither possibility will fill America's allies-or anyone else for that matter-with any confidence about Obama and Kerry's handling of the Iran threat, which may soon become the Iran crisis. Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Secretary Kerry reported the time-period for what he described as 'so-called breakout' is 'about two months.' Yet, back in October, shortly before the announcement of November's interim agreement between Iran and the P5+1 countries, Obama claimed that that same breakout point was a year or more away. The interim agreement awards Iran partial relief from sanctions in return for Iran agreeing to reduce its enrichment activities and its cooperation with both inspections and negotiations that are supposed to move us towards a final agreement with Iran. So are we to assume that, as had been feared by many, the interim period has allowed Iran a window in which to speed ahead with enrichment? There are only two other alternatives. One is that the administration's own ability to assess Iran's progress is dangerously limited, the other is that for political reasons Obama was intentionally underestimating Iran's progress; most likely to undermine public and Congressional support for tougher action against Iran. If all of that wasn't alarming enough, then Kerry's apparent lack of clarity about his objectives with Iran are all the more so. Obama has already been dropping hints about being 'realistic' as far as a final deal is concerned; the implication being that it will be some kind of trade off that won't definitively end Iran's nuclear capacities. Time and time again Kerry has claimed that he would prefer no deal to a bad deal, yet speaking before the Senate committee it sounded a lot like a bad deal is precisely what is in the making." http://t.uani.com/1gcGNUQ Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons.