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UANI Statement on MTN's "Business as Usual" in Iran

2012-01-27T13:56:00.001-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 27, 2012

Contact: Nathan Carleton, press@uani.com

Phone: (212) 554-3296

UANI Statement on MTN's "Business as Usual" in Iran

New York, NY - United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) President, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, issued the following statement today after MTN's spokesman told The Wall Street Journal, in response to UANI, that MTN will continue "business as usual" in Iran.

MTN's statement appeared in today's Journal article, "U.S. Lobby Group Seeks MTN Pullout From Iran," which previews UANI's upcoming campaign against MTN.

Said Ambassador Wallace:

It is regrettable to see MTN's callous statement that it plans to keep doing "business as usual" in Iran. For the Iranian regime, "business as usual" means pursuing nuclear weapons, sponsoring terrorists, killing U.S. troops, and committing brutal and systemic human rights abuses against its own citizens.

MTN owes it to its shareholders and customers to leave Iran, and stop partnering with a regime that uses mobile technology to track, stifle, and oppress its own people.

Click here to read UANI's letter to MTN.

Click here to send a message to MTN.

###

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran should concern every American and be unacceptable to the community of nations. Since 1979 the Iranian regime, most recently under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's leadership, has demonstrated increasingly threatening behavior and rhetoric toward the US and the West. Iran continues to defy the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations in their attempts to monitor its nuclear activities. A number of Arab states have warned that Iran's development of nuclear weapons poses a threat to Middle East stability and could provoke a regional nuclear arms race. In short, the prospect of a nuclear armed Iran is a danger to world peace.

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.

The Objectives of United Against a Nuclear Iran

Inform the public about the nature of the Iranian regime, including its desire and intent to possess nuclear weapons, as well as Iran's role as a state sponsor of global terrorism, and a major violator of human rights at home and abroad;
Heighten awareness nationally and internationally about the danger that a nuclear armed Iran poses to the region and the world;
Mobilize public support, utilize media outreach, and persuade our elected leaders to voice a robust and united American opposition to a nuclear Iran;
Lay the groundwork for effective US policies in coordination with European and other allies;
Persuade the regime in Tehran to desist from its quest for nuclear weapons, while striving not to punish the Iranian people, and;
Promote efforts that focus on vigorous national and international, social, economic, political and diplomatic measures.

UANI is led by an advisory board of outstanding national figures representing all sectors of our country.

Forward email

American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran | 45 Rockefeller Plaza | New York | NY | 10111

Eye on Iran: U.S. Lobby Group Seeks MTN Pullout From Iran

2012-01-27T13:55:00.002-05:00

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Top Stories

WSJ: "South Africa's flagship telecommunications company MTN Group Ltd. said Friday that it won't pull out of Iran after it became the target of an influential U.S. lobby group campaign seeking the exit of foreign businesses in the country. MTN has a 49% stake in Iran's second-largest mobile phone operator and 21% of its subscriber base is from the country, according to its most recent figures. The lobby group's campaign comes as the U.S. and Europe are enacting new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. In a letter sent to MTN's Chief Executive Sifiso Dabengwa this week seen by Dow Jones Newswires, Mark Wallace, the president of lobby group United Against Nuclear Iran and a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said MTN is enabling the Iranian government to track and locate cellphone users which it says is a violation of human rights. The group wants the company to either scale back in Iran or exit the country." http://t.uani.com/yu4CIe

WSJ: "Iran's president attacked Western powers for sanctions against Iran but offered no clear indication on whether his country would return to negotiations on its nuclear program, in his first public remarks since the European Union agreed to ban Iranian oil imports. In a public rally on Thursday in the southeastern city of Kerman, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denied that Iran has been an obstacle to reviving negotiations, but stopped short of offering to restart talks, saying, 'Why would we run away from negotiations? Why should the person who is in the right and has logic avoid talks?' Iran's parliament echoed the defiant tone by saying it would consider an immediate halt of oil exports to Europe to pre-empt the oil embargo, which the EU set to begin on July 1 to give its members time to find alternative supply sources." http://t.uani.com/yq73Lz

NYT: "Israeli intelligence estimates, backed by academic studies, have cast doubt on the widespread assumption that a military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities would set off a catastrophic set of events like a regional conflagration, widespread acts of terrorism and sky-high oil prices. The estimates, which have been largely adopted by the country's most senior officials, conclude that the threat of Iranian retaliation is partly bluff. They are playing an important role in Israel's calculation of whether ultimately to strike Iran, or to try to persuade the United States to do so, even as Tehran faces tough new economic sanctions from the West. 'A war is no picnic,' Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Israel Radio in November. But if Israel feels itself forced into action, the retaliation would be bearable, he said. 'There will not be 100,000 dead or 10,000 dead or 1,000 dead. The state of Israel will not be destroyed.'" http://t.uani.com/xTDxTR

Nuclear Program & Sanctions

FT: "One of the first sessions to be booked out at the World Economic Forum was 'What if Iran Develops a Nuclear Weapon?' The risk of conflict over Iran's nuclear programme is debated every year at Davos, but the assembled experts and politicians now seem to be taking the prospect of war considerably more seriously. They will listen to the words of Ehud Barak, Israel's deputy prime minister and defence minister, particularly carefully when he addresses the conference today. There are several reasons for this state of alarm. First, Iran is thought to be making significant progress with a nuclear weapons programme. In particular, Iran watchers are concerned that, over the coming months, vital nuclear technology will be moved into hardened underground silos - making important parts of the Iranian programme much less vulnerable to bombing raids." http://t.uani.com/w3cton

Reuters: "Oman may sell oil to Sri Lanka in the event of a crisis, which the island nation is racing to avert with U.S. sanctions on Iranian crude threatening its primary refining supply, Sri Lankan officials told Reuters on Friday. Omani Oil Minister Mohammad bin Hamad al-Rumhy on Friday was holding a second and final day of talks with Sri Lankan Petroleum Industries Minister Susil Premajayantha, who is hunting for a new oil supply amid limited options... Nearly all its crude supply comes from Iran and its 50,000-barrel-per-day Sapugaskanda refinery was built to process only Iranian light sweet crude or the similar Arabian Light." http://t.uani.com/AAdZzp

AP: "The United States has arrested and charged an Iranian semiconductor scientist with violating U.S. export laws by buying high-tech U.S. lab equipment, a development likely to further worsen Iranian-U.S. tensions. Prison records show the U.S. is holding Seyed Mojtaba Atarodi, 54, a microchip expert and assistant professor at Tehran's prestigious Sharif University of Technology, in a federal facility in Dublin, Calif., outside San Francisco. The Iranian interest section in the Pakistani embassy in Washington said it was aware of the arrest." http://t.uani.com/zTJfzG

Bloomberg: "More than 70 percent of investors said an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would create only a short-term disruption in oil markets, according to a quarterly Bloomberg Global Poll. Only about a third of the 1,209 global investors, traders and analysts surveyed Jan. 23-24 said an attack could trigger an oil shock leading to a global recession. While regional conflicts could affect oil markets over a longer period of time, investors may have 'lurking confidence that other oil-producing nations would step up to increase production,' said J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co., the Des Moines, Iowa-based company that conducted the survey for Bloomberg." http://t.uani.com/yGDmYc

Human Rights

AFP: "The United States Thursday accused Iran of trying to quash all freedom of expression ahead of March elections, as it cracks down on reporters and bloggers. US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland cited the reported arrests of four journalists and death sentences imposed on two bloggers, who she said face imminent execution over charges of spreading corruption. 'We are deeply concerned by the alarming increase in the Iranian regime's efforts to extinguish all forms of free expression and limit its citizens' access to information in the lead-up to March parliamentary elections,' she said. Security forces in the last two weeks have reportedly arrested journalists Shahram Manouchehri, Sahamedin Bourghani, Parastoo Dokouhaki, and Marzieh Rasouli, she said." http://t.uani.com/w5crlT

Domestic Politics

AFP: "The central bank of sanctions-hit Iran is to enforce a single exchange rate after a dramatic slide in the value of the Iranian rial on the open market, state television reported on Thursday. 'From Saturday, there will be a single fixed rate for the dollar which will be 12,260 rials,' central bank governor Mahmoud Bahmani announced on television. 'This rate is valid for all transactions and authorised imports... as well as for students abroad or those travelling,' he said. Iran previously had two official exchange rates: one of 11,300 rials to the dollar at the bank for state operations and official imports, and a variable rate for businesses and individuals to purchase from foreign exchange offices." http://t.uani.com/z9yQXM

Opinion & Analysis

Amb. Mark Wallace in The Daily Caller: "Earlier this month, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) sent a letter to Jennifer Lopez, the well-known actress, singer and judge for 'American Idol,' asking her to renounce her ties to the Italian automaker Fiat. Most Americans have seen Ms. Lopez's Fiat commercials, which she filmed as part of a multimillion-dollar deal that also includes product placement during her performances. The reasoning behind our campaign is simple: Ms. Lopez is the most prominent spokesperson for Fiat, and Fiat - through its business in Iran - is undermining U.S. national security and human rights. Fiat maintains an active business presence in Iran, and through its subsidiary Iveco has sold vehicles to the Iranian regime which have been used to transport ballistic missiles and stage gruesome public executions. It is important to place Fiat's activities in Iran in a broader geopolitical context. For one, U.S. automakers are prohibited from selling automobiles in Iran, due to laws passed in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion and signed by presidents both Democratic and Republican. The goal of those laws, and the Obama administration's policy towards Iran, is to exert economic pressure on Iran's government until it stops pursuing policies that threaten global peace and security as well as the rights of its citizens. When it comes to Iran, no company can ever be sure how its products might be used, or what the taxes it is paying the Iranian Treasury might help fund. UANI has tried to make Ms. Lopez aware of this fact. Unfortunately, multinational corporations like Fiat that continue to do business in Iran are throwing the regime a much-needed lifeline that is helping it remain in power and fund its activities. As such, the U.S and its allies have been encouraging corporations to end their business activities in Iran, particularly when the activities directly support the Iranian regime, as is the case of Fiat." http://t.uani.com/yw7kAy

Bob Feferman in South Bend Tribune: "The November 2011 report on Iran's nuclear program by the International Atomic Energy Agency confirms that Iran continues to work on the development of nuclear weapons in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions. Whereas the United States government has imposed tough sanctions on Iran, there is much more that we can do, both at the state level and as individuals, to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran. Due to the fact that China and Russia oppose stronger sanctions in the U.N. Security Council, many analysts believe that absent a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities (which everyone wants to avoid), Iran will eventually develop nuclear weapons. This fatalistic approach could be fatal for all of us... Since we can no longer wait for tougher sanctions on Iran by the United Nations, what more can we do to support the sanctions of the U.S. government? Leading the American grassroots efforts on Iran is the organization United Against Nuclear Iran. Recently, UANI has sponsored a bold new model for action at the state level called Iran Contract Legislation that we can support here in Indiana. The adoption of Iran Contract Legislation would require any company signing a contract with the state to certify that it is not engaged in Iran's energy sector. This strategy is based on the fact that most of the revenues of the Iranian regime come from the production and sale of oil and natural gas. Yet, absent the help of foreign companies, Iran is incapable of exploiting its own natural resources. So far, the state legislatures of California, Florida and New York have passed Iran Contract Legislation. The foreign companies impacted by this legislation will have to make a choice: they can do business in either Iran or the United States -- not both. Now Indiana will have the opportunity to enact similar legislation. Thanks to the leadership of state Sens. Tom Wyss of Fort Wayne, John Broden of South Bend and Michael Young of Milltown, an Iran Contract Legislation bill, S.B. 231, has been introduced to the Indiana General Assembly... By supporting Iran Contract Legislation in our state legislature, and avoiding investment in companies engaged in Iran's energy sector, the residents of Indiana can use nonmilitary means to help prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and make the world a much safer place." http://t.uani.com/xcg2tM

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.

The Latest from National Terror Alert Response Center

2012-01-27T13:55:00.001-05:00

The Latest from National Terror Alert Response Center

FBI plans social network map alert mash-up application – BBC

Posted: 26 Jan 2012 07:07 AM PST

The FBI is seeking to develop an early-warning system based on material “scraped” from social networks. It says the application should provide information about possible domestic and global threats superimposed onto maps “using mash-up technology”. The bureau has asked contractors to suggest possible solutions including the estimated cost. Read More This story comes to us [...]

This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information.

FBI plans social network map alert mash-up application – BBC

Emergency In Your Area? Public Alerts On Google Maps Shows Warnings

Posted: 26 Jan 2012 05:45 AM PST

Google announced a new layer of data being added to Google Maps for public alerts. If there are emergency alerts in your area, Google will show them to you on the map, with more details on the alert.You can access it over at google.org/publicalerts. The map will load with a layer of data on top [...]

This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information.

Emergency In Your Area? Public Alerts On Google Maps Shows Warnings

The Marxist Mission to Destroy Ayaan Hirsi Ali

2012-01-27T13:54:00.002-05:00

The Phyllis Chesler Organization

The Marxist Mission to Destroy Ayaan Hirsi Ali

by Phyllis Chesler
PJ Media
January 26, 2012

http://www.phyllis-chesler.com/1066/marxist-mission-destroy-ayaan-hirsi-ali

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Excerpt:

The feminism I once championed — and still do — was first taken over by Marxists and subsequently "Stalinized." It was then conquered again by Islamists and "Palestinianized." I and a handful of others maintained honorable minority positions on a host of issues. In time, women no longer mattered as much to many feminists — at least, not as much as Edward Said's Arab men of color did. The Arab men were more fashionable victims who had not only been formerly "colonized" but who, to this day, are still being "occupied" by allegedly "apartheid"–intentioned Jews.

While most of my generation of feminists have long ago retired, died, fallen ill, or have continued to rest visibly on their own earliest laurels, I continue to champion universalist values and to resist the death-grip of multicultural relativism.

Read the complete original version of this item...

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The Phyllis Chesler Organization

Ibrahim in Jihad Watch: "Jihad: When Elections Fail"

2012-01-26T18:55:00.001-05:00

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Jihad: When Elections Fail

by Raymond Ibrahim
Jihad Watch
January 26, 2012

http://www.meforum.org/3160/jihad-when-elections-fail

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The Obama administration supports "democracy" and "self determination" in the Middle East—two euphemisms that, in the real world, refer to "mob-rule" and "Islamic radicalization," respectively. Yet, as Jimmy Carter recently put it: "I don't have any problem with that [an "Islamist victory" in Egypt], and the U.S. government doesn't have any problem with that either. We want the will of the Egyptian people to be expressed."

Sounds fair enough. The problem, however, is that Muslim clerics openly and unequivocally characterize democracy and elections as tools to be discarded once they empower Sharia law. Thus Dr. Talat Zahran holds that it is "obligatory to cheat at elections—a beautiful thing"; and Sheikh Abdel Shahat insists that democracy is not merely forbidden in Islam, but kufr—a great and terrible sin—this even as he competed in Egypt's elections.

The Obama administration can overlook such election-exploitation because the majority of Muslims are either indifferent or willing to go along with the gag—with only a minority (secularists, Copts, etc.) in Egypt actually objecting to how elections are being used to empower Sharia-enforcing Muslims.

But what if Muslims do not win elections? What if there are equal amounts of non-Muslims voting—and an "infidel" wins? What then? Then we get situations like Nigeria.

While many are aware that Boko Haram and other Islamic elements are waging jihad against the government of Nigeria, specifically targeting Christians, often overlooked is that the jihad was provoked into full-blown activity because a Christian won fair elections (Nigeria is about evenly split between Christians and Muslims).

According to Peter Run, writing back in April 2011

The current wave of riots was triggered by the Independent National Election Commission's (INEC) announcement on Monday [April 18, 2011] that the incumbent President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, won in the initial round of ballot counts. That there were riots in the largely Muslim inhabited northern states where the defeat of the Muslim candidate Muhammadu Buhari was intolerable, [but] was unsurprising. Northerners [Muslims] felt they were entitled to the presidency for the declared winner, President Jonathan, [who] assumed leadership after the Muslim president, Umaru Yar'Adua died in office last year and radical groups in the north [Boko Haram] had seen his ascent [Christian president] as a temporary matter to be corrected at this year's election. Now they are angry despite experts and observers concurring that this is the fairest and most independent election in recent Nigerian history.

Note some key words: Muslims felt "entitled" to the presidency and seek to "correct" the fact that a Christian won elections—which they assumed "a temporary matter."

Of course, had elections empowered a like-minded Muslim, the same jihadis would still be there, would still have the same savage intent for Christians and Westerners—Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden." But there would not be a fullblown jihad, and Obama would be singing praises to Nigerian democracy and elections, and the MSM would be boasting images of Nigerians with ink-stained fingers.

Yet the same jihadi intent would be there, only dormant. Like Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood—whose ultimate goal is "mastership of the world"—they would not need to expose themselves via jihad, would be biding their time and consolidating their strength.

Now, back to the Egyptian clerics, specifically Sheikh Yassir al-Burhami—yet another leader in Egypt's Salafi movement, who teaches that Muslims must preach peace when weak but wage war when strong. Discussing the chances of a fellow Salafi, Burhami asserts:

We say—regardless of the outcome of the elections—whether he [his colleague, the aforementioned al-Shahat] wins or loses, we will not permit an infidel [kafir] to be appointed to a post where he assumes authority over Muslims. This is forbidden. Allah said: "Never will Allah grant to infidels a way [to triumph] over the believers [Koran 4:141]." We are not worried about losing elections or al-Shahat losing votes. We will not flatter or fawn to the people.

What will you and your associates do, Sheikh Burhami—wage jihad? Of course, that will not be necessary: unlike Nigeria, most of Egypt is Muslim; one way or another, "elections" will realize the Islamist agenda.

Thus, whether by word (al-Burhami) or deed (Boko Haram) those who seek to make Islam supreme prove that democracy and elections are acceptable only insofar as they enable Sharia. Conversely, if they lead to something that contradicts Sharia—for instance, by bringing a Christian infidel to power—then the perennial jihad resumes.

Raymond Ibrahim is an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum and a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center.

Related Topics: Democracy and Islam, Radical Islam | Raymond Ibrahim This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL.

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The Middle East Forum

In Case You Missed It: "How Fiat and Jennifer Lopez are indirectly enabling the Iranian regime"

2012-01-26T16:43:00.001-05:00

In Case You Missed It: "How Fiat and Jennifer Lopez are indirectly enabling the Iranian regime"

Note: View UANI's Jennifer Lopez Fiat parody at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXmpB0XDDCA

How Fiat and Jennifer Lopez are indirectly enabling the Iranian regime

By Mark Wallace

The Daily Caller

January 26, 2011

Earlier this month, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) sent a letter to Jennifer Lopez, the well-known actress, singer and judge for "American Idol," asking her to renounce her ties to the Italian automaker Fiat. Most Americans have seen Ms. Lopez's Fiat commercials, which she filmed as part of a multimillion-dollar deal that also includes product placement during her performances.

The reasoning behind our campaign is simple: Ms. Lopez is the most prominent spokesperson for Fiat, and Fiat - through its business in Iran - is undermining U.S. national security and human rights. Fiat maintains an active business presence in Iran, and through its subsidiary Iveco has sold vehicles to the Iranian regime which have been used to transport ballistic missiles and stage gruesome public executions.

It is important to place Fiat's activities in Iran in a broader geopolitical context. For one, U.S. automakers are prohibited from selling automobiles in Iran, due to laws passed in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion and signed by presidents both Democratic and Republican. The goal of those laws, and the Obama administration's policy towards Iran, is to exert economic pressure on Iran's government until it stops pursuing policies that threaten global peace and security as well as the rights of its citizens. When it comes to Iran, no company can ever be sure how its products might be used, or what the taxes it is paying the Iranian Treasury might help fund. UANI has tried to make Ms. Lopez aware of this fact.

Unfortunately, multinational corporations like Fiat that continue to do business in Iran are throwing the regime a much-needed lifeline that is helping it remain in power and fund its activities. As such, the U.S and its allies have been encouraging corporations to end their business activities in Iran, particularly when the activities directly support the Iranian regime, as is the case of Fiat.

Consider that several international automakers, including Toyota and Kia, have heeded this call and pulled out of Iran. A number of other international companies have also followed suit, including Komatsu, Liebherr and ABB. Even Chinese companies such as Huawei are now scaling back their business in Iran to prevent the regime from abusing their civilian goods for nefarious purposes.

But not Fiat. To date, Fiat has not responded to overtures and letters from UANI leadership and our supporters across the country, even as it tries to re-enter the American automobile market with the help of Ms. Lopez. As for her, she has yet to issue any sort of response to questions about Fiat's business in Iran, despite being contacted not just by UANI, but by numerous reporters and fans who have followed our campaign.

No one believes that Ms. Lopez supports Iran's nuclear weapons program, its public hangings of homosexuals and political dissidents, its support of terrorist groups such as al Qaida or its plans to assassinate foreign dignitaries and carry out terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. In fact we at UANI figured Ms. Lopez would be taken by surprise once she learned of our legitimate concerns regarding Fiat's business activities in Iran, and we hoped she would be eager to take a stand for international security and human rights.

Yet as the days go by, we are increasingly disappointed not just in the lack of a response from Fiat, but also with Ms. Lopez's silence. It is sad to learn that Ms. Lopez could tolerate serving as the public face of an irresponsible international corporation that is directly undermining U.S. national security - a company which by the way has benefitted greatly from U.S. tax dollars given its newly acquired majority stake in the recently bailed-out Chrysler Group.

The irony is that when it comes to endorsement deals, it is typically corporations that must distance themselves from celebrities who have gotten in trouble with the law or caused embarrassment to their images. In the case of Fiat it is the reverse: Fiat, through its callous disregard and reckless policies, is potentially damaging Ms. Lopez's reputation.

Ms. Lopez and other entertainers can and should follow a path where their endorsements do not increase the sales of corporations whose actions are diametrically opposed to the security and foreign policy goals of the United States - actions antithetical to the values Ms. Lopez presumably shares with her American fan base.

We look forward to her response.

Mark D. Wallace is president of United Against Nuclear Iran. He served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Representative for U.N. Management and Reform.

Click here to read the piece on the Daily Caller's website.

Click here to view UANI's Jennifer Lopez Fiat parody video.

Click here to view supporting facts for the video.

Click here to read UANI's full letter to Jennifer Lopez.

Click here to read UANI's full letter to Fiat.

Click here to send a message to Fiat.

###

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Inform the public about the nature of the Iranian regime, including its desire and intent to possess nuclear weapons, as well as Iran's role as a state sponsor of global terrorism, and a major violator of human rights at home and abroad;
Heighten awareness nationally and internationally about the danger that a nuclear armed Iran poses to the region and the world;
Mobilize public support, utilize media outreach, and persuade our elected leaders to voice a robust and united American opposition to a nuclear Iran;
Lay the groundwork for effective US policies in coordination with European and other allies;
Persuade the regime in Tehran to desist from its quest for nuclear weapons, while striving not to punish the Iranian people, and;
Promote efforts that focus on vigorous national and international, social, economic, political and diplomatic measures.

UANI is led by an advisory board of outstanding national figures representing all sectors of our country.

Forward email

American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran | 45 Rockefeller Plaza | New York | NY | 10111

The Arab World's Endless Failures by Ralph Peters

2012-01-26T16:41:00.000-05:00

"The latest outbreak of conservative goose-bumps comes from the success of Islamist parties in elections in Egypt, Tunisia and elsewhere. I do not see these election results as good news-but they're bad news primarily for Muslims, who once again have chosen the path of cultural stasis, social dysfunction and failure..."

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Family Security Matters Contributing Editor Ralph Peters is a retired Army officer (and former enlisted man), and an author. The latest of his 28 books, is Lines Of Fire, a collection of his best non-fiction writing from the past two decades, and his new novel, Cain at Gettysburg, will be published on February 28th.

The Arab World's Endless Failures

Islam, Corruption and Hatred of Women Destroyed a Civilization

by Ralph Peters

How can U.S conservatives impute overpowering strength to a religion-crippled civilization that not only cannot build a competitive automobile, but can't even produce a competitive bicycle?

CLICK HERE TO READ ARTICLE

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Eye on Iran: Iran Set to Turn Off Oil Supply to Europe

2012-01-26T16:40:00.003-05:00

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Top Stories

Der Spiegel: "It's a move which has tit-for-tat written all over it, but one which could nonetheless have a serious impact: The Iranian government wants to present a bill to parliament this weekend calling for an immediate halt to oil deliveries to Europe. The move, with most reports citing the Iranian news agency Mehr, has come about in response to the EU agreement to impose sanctions against Iran, which were announced earlier this week. The sanctions banned any new contracts for buying oil from Iran, but allowed existing deals to continue until July in order to give countries time to find other sources. But that process is now at risk after the latest move from Tehran, a step the Iranian government had already threatened. 'If this bill is passed, the government will be forced to stop selling oil to Europe before the actual implementation of their sanctions,' said Emad Hosseini, spokesman for the Iranian parliament's energy commission, reportedly said. The bill is set to become law on Sunday. The EU sanctions allow for oil deliveries from Iran until July 1. Any pre-empting of this timescale by Tehran could prove problematic for countries like Italy, Greece and Spain, who would need to urgently find new suppliers." http://t.uani.com/A10CYs

WSJ: "After being slapped with an oil ban by the European Union this week, Iran has suggested its petroleum could be simply displaced, not lost, in the fungible pool of global oil markets. But experts disagree, saying the sanctions are likely to be a boon to the world's two largest crude producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia, and push up the average price of oil charged globally. 'Some of the lost supply [to Europe] may be met by Saudi Arabia,' Vienna-based consultancy JBC Energy said in a note Tuesday. But, 'Russian Urals will no doubt [also] be the clear choice for regional refiners.' ... According to Washington-based consultancy Eurasia, a total Iran-oil ban in the EU and import reductions in countries like Japan and Korea could leave about 1.3 million barrels a day of Iranian oil-half of the country's oil exports-looking for a new home. Iran's largest oil buyers, India and China, which have so far resisted U.S. pressure, have been seen as natural replacements for the loss of European markets. That's because 'by the end of the year, Iran's remaining buyers will be looking for at least a 10% to 15% price discount,' said Trevor Houser, a partner at New York-based economic-research firm Rhodium Group." http://t.uani.com/zroqqU

Guardian: "Iran is unlikely to move towards building a nuclear weapon in 2012 because it cannot yet produce enough weapon-grade uranium and is being deterred by sanctions and the prospect of an Israeli attack, according to a draft report by the Institute for Science and International Security (Isis). The report by the institute founded by nuclear expert David Albright offers a more temperate view of Iran's nuclear program than some of the heated rhetoric that has surfaced since the United States and its allies stepped up sanctions on Tehran. The Isis analysis is revealed after a prediction that Israel will attack Iran in 2012 to try and stop any nuclear bomb programme. 'Iran is unlikely to decide to dash toward making nuclear weapons as long as its uranium enrichment capability remains as limited as it is today,' the report said." http://t.uani.com/wuQDUn

Nuclear Program & Sanctions

WashPost: "Iran is ready to revive talks with the world powers, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday, as toughening sanctions aim at forcing Tehran to sharply scale back its nuclear program. Even so, he insisted that the pressures will not force Iran to give up its demands, including to continue enriching uranium, that led to the collapse of dialogue last year... Iran had previously indicated that it is ready for a new round of talks. Ahmadinejad is the highest-ranking official to make the offer. He accused the West of trying to scuttle negotiations as a way to further squeeze Iran." http://t.uani.com/zJ4b8M

Reuters: "Italian oil and gas group Eni is owed $1.4-1.5 billion in oil by Iran and has been assured its buyback contracts will not be part of the embargo on crude imports from the Islamic Republic, an Eni executive said on Wednesday. The European Union agreed on Jan. 23 to ban Iranian oil imports, but the embargo will not be fully implemented until July 1, to avoid harming economies to whom Iran has been a major supplier... About 9,000 barrels per day of oil are withdrawn each day, Eni said in an emailed statement quoting comments made by its head of communication Gianni Di Giovanni on Wednesday." http://t.uani.com/AramLQ

Reuters: "Turkish lender Halkbank will continue to handle customers' oil payments to Iran as long as they comply with international regulations, the bank's general manager said in the wake of fresh, unilateral U.S. and EU sanctions. Halkbank's dealings with Iran drew attention last year when Indian refiners disclosed they were channeling oil payments through the Turkish bank as their own central bank had shut its payment facility, fearing U.S. retribution. Majority state-owned Halkbank is Turkey's sixth largest bank, based on unconsolidated assets, and has a representative office in Tehran." http://t.uani.com/zxY2v7

Human Rights

NYT: "The judicial authorities in Iran have arrested at least half a dozen journalists and bloggers over the past few weeks, according to their acquaintances, opposition Web sites and rights groups. The moves appear to be part of a pre-emptive campaign of intimidation to thwart protests surrounding the parliamentary elections that are scheduled to be held in early March. The arrests of the journalists and bloggers, including two prominent women whose blog posts are widely read in Iran, have not been reported by the official news media. Rights groups and people who know the detained journalists said the government apparently wanted word of the arrests to spread informally, to heighten the atmosphere of fear and paranoia. It also was unclear what specific charges, if any, had been lodged against those who were arrested. None seem to have been politically active or to have published anything that might be considered seditious since the last major Iranian government crackdown on free expression in February 2011." http://t.uani.com/yPGchU

Domestic Politics

NYT: "Facing a wave of panic selling by Iranians worried that international sanctions and inflation are destroying the value of the country's currency, the rial, Iran's president reversed himself on Wednesday and allowed bank interest rates to rise sharply in an effort to stop a slide that has depressed the rial to a relentless string of record lows... The unofficial foreign exchange rate in Tehran has fallen to about 23,000 rials to the dollar, compared with about 11,000 to 12,000 to the dollar in December - a 50 percent drop over a month. The weakened rial means Iranians must pay far more for goods, especially imports... The rates will rise to 21 percent, up from 12.5 percent, to encourage people to put their rials in the bank instead of selling them. Still, it was unclear if the move would ease anxiety." http://t.uani.com/A2HntC

Foreign Affairs

Reuters: "Authorities in Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic bordering Iran, have arrested two men suspected of plotting to attack prominent foreigners including Israel's ambassador and a local rabbi, officials and media reported on Wednesday. The National Security Ministry said the men were connected to an Iranian citizen who had links with Iran's intelligence. Azerbaijan, a secular Muslim country, is home to more than 9,000 Jews and has friendly ties with Israel and the United States. A major energy producer, it exports oil to Israel and imports weapons and military hardware." http://t.uani.com/yLzfdy

Opinion & Analysis

Colin Kahl in FP: "One year ago today, Egyptians took to the streets to demand the removal of Hosni Mubarak's three-decade-old dictatorship. As they waved flags and chanted for the fall of the regime, another ruler 1,200 miles to the east was calculating how to use their act of courage for his own profit. On Feb. 4, at the height of the protests in Tahrir Square, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took the stage in Tehran to deliver his assessment of the revolutionary moment unfolding in Cairo. Speaking partly in Arabic, Khamenei described events in Egypt as an 'Islamic awakening' inspired by Iran's own 1979 revolution. The speech was blasted out to thousands of Egyptians via text message, and Khamenei even claimed on his webpage to have personally inspired the pro-democracy demonstrations, comparing them to 'the yell that the Iranian nation let out against America and against global arrogance and tyranny.' Khamenei was not alone in predicting that the Arab Spring would provide Iran an opportunity to expand its influence across the Middle East. Early on, some Washington commentators fretted that he may be right. Writing in Foreign Affairs, for example, Michael Scott Doran, a former official in President George W. Bush's administration, cautioned that the 'resistance bloc' led by Tehran was 'poised to pounce, jackal-like, on the wounded states of the region.' And, in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset as recently as October that he doubted the 'high hopes that blossomed in the Arab Spring' would be realized, arguing that Iran would manipulate events to expand its influence. But even at the time, Khamenei's assertions fell on deaf ears among the hundreds of thousands risking their lives in Tahrir Square. When asked about Khamenei's boastful claims, one Tahrir protester mocked: 'Egyptians were not inspired by Iran. Rather, the Egyptian people are inspiring the world.' This proved a much more astute observation than the supreme leader's. As Foreign Policy's own Marc Lynch documents in his compelling new book, The Arab Uprising, the 2011 revolts in Egypt and elsewhere were inspired by decades-old grievances against corrupt regimes and the mutually reinforcing demonstration effects of simultaneous movements rising up across the Arab world. Iran had nothing to do with it. The reaction in Tahrir Square represented a sign of things to come. Iran has tried to exploit events, but the winds of political change have not blown in Tehran's favor." http://t.uani.com/zdMDV2

Fariba Nawa in Fox News: "Afghanistan has suffered from foreign meddling since its inception. But while Pakistan's role has been widely discussed -- most Afghans will point to concrete examples -- Iran's involvement is more subtle. Iranian influence is all encompassing--the Islamic government funds Afghan Shiite sects and politicians, has invested in building roads and providing fuel and transport, and is fighting hard against the Afghan opium trade that supplies millions of addicts. But Iran's lasting power on Afghanistan is cultural as well as political, broadcasting state radio and television programs inside Afghanistan. Yet the country's biggest cultural influence is not imposed by the Iranian government. The more than one million repatriating Afghan refugees from Iran - tens of thousands have been deported -bring the dialect, food, music, and clothes particular to Iran. Some of the Afghans repatriates are migrant workers, similar to Mexicans in the U.S., some are construction workers who became addicted to drugs in Iran, others were able to get an education and acquire job skills, and most have lived there for over three decades. Yet Iran will not grant them legal status; they do not have a right to a higher education, to own property, or to work. Most voluntarily return to Afghanistan because there are more opportunities in their home country. These Afghans are changing Afghanistan's identity to be more Iranian - for better or worse... However, Afghan bitterness toward the Iranian government is justifiable. The Islamic Republic backs religious divisions inside Afghanistan, using Afghan Shiites as pawns. Shiite Afghans, who come from other ethnic groups as well, are encouraged to watch Iranian clerics give fiery speeches against Sunni Afghans. Iran built the road from Herat City to its border, one of the finest rebuilt highways, but the signs alongside the road bear Koranic verses picked by Iran's government... I can take pop music and the Iranian Farsi drawl, but Iran's sponsorship of sectarian violence must be stopped -- by the U.S. and other foreign powers invested in Afghanistan -- but mostly, by Afghans themselves who must unite to stand up to their neighbors." http://t.uani.com/xZaILe

Gabe Collins & Andrew Erickson in WSJ: "Europe's decision to embargo Iranian oil exports is strategically sound, since a nuclear-armed Iran is in no one's interest. Yet, policymakers are overlooking how an embargo may strategically reshape the global oil trade in China's favor. Major Chinese oil traders are building businesses that are world class in terms of volumes traded. The latest oil embargo will help them further their ambitions. The first Iranian oil embargo beginning in 1979 effectively handed Marc Rich, whose company ultimately became Glencore (one of the world's largest physical oil and commodities traders), the keys to a multibillion dollar oil-trading kingdom. Now China's increasingly global oil trading companies are in the catbird seat. Chinese firms can be confident that Beijing values stable and secure oil supplies much more than cooperation with the U.S. on the Iranian nuclear issue. The EU sanctions, which will affect about 450,000 barrels per day of oil imports to Europe, will likely engender the transfer of billions of dollars in oil earnings from the Iranian government to China's main oil trading firms: Zhuhai Zhenrong, Unipec, Chinaoil, and Sinochem. These firms have become major players in the global physical crude oil market. In 2010, 3 of the 10 largest global crude oil and products traders hailed from China... Policymakers and investors alike must consider how EU sanctions targeting Iran's nuclear program may well help reshape the physical oil trading world in ways that favor China's rising state-backed oil traders. In today's globalized, economically dynamic, and resource-hungry world, unintended consequences can matter tremendously." http://t.uani.com/zqVKRb

Campus Watch on Facebook

2012-01-26T16:40:00.002-05:00

Campus Watch Home | Middle East studies in the News | Donate

Campus Watch on Facebook

by Campus Watch • Jan 26, 2012 at 12:32 pm

http://www.campus-watch.org/blog/2012/01/campus-watch-on-facebook

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Campus Watch (CW) now has a Facebook page, so please stop by, give us a look, and if so inclined, a "like." We plan on linking to all of our new articles and blog posts, as well as posting updates on developments in the field of Middle East studies. CW West Coast Representative Cinnamon Stillwell will be the administrator.

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1-26-12:Who is Calling for the Murder of Jews? (Plus: See who has a tense exchange with the President)

2012-01-26T16:39:00.001-05:00

Expect Panic and Revenge from Iran over Oil Embargo

by Ryan Mauro

Tough oil sanctions against Iran - whose oil exports make up 85 percent of its income - will enrage the mullahs, and they are likely to express that rage in the form of revenge.

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* VIDEOS * TODAY'S HOT PICKS *

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5. Iran preparing now for Armageddon...Select fighters being described as 'Soldiers of Imam Mahdi'
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Why Doesn't America Ban Iranian Press TV?

Kenneth R. Timmerman

Press TV is the propaganda outlet for the terrorist regime of Iran. It was recently banned in the UK for failing to pay a fine. Why does this administration tolerate its brazen lies?

The Mufti of Jerusalem Calls for the Murder of Jews

Ed Koch

Little media attention is given to violent Arab threats and the constant unfair attacks by the media, cowardly governments and U.N. officials on Israel.

Hamas Leader Visiting Jordan

The Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report

In Britain, the Muslim Brotherhood sets up yet another front group to fight UK media "bias" against Islamism, and Hamas' leader Khaled Meshaal to tour Middle East.

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Palestinian Authority Plays Down Mufti's Calls for Killing of Jews

Itamar Marcus, Nan Jacques Zilberdik

The Mufti of Jerusalem claimed it was the "destiny" of Palestinians to kill the Jews. Despite international condemnation, the Palestinian Authority sees nothing wrong with his comments.

Camp Leatherneck Reaches Out

Diana West

After an attack at Kajaki in Afghanistan, in which a serviceman was killed, a U.S. Army Public Affairs Officer fails to bring clarity on the situation...

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The State of the Union address included plans to reform immigration, urging pathways to citizenship, and in Houston, almost half of the workforce of one company were illegals.

Quote of the Day - January 26, 2012

FSM: Quote of the Day

Wise words from a Muslim who followed a school of Islam that is now extinct...

The Arab World's Endless Failures

Islam, Corruption and Hatred of Women Destroyed a Civilization

Ralph Peters

How can U.S conservatives impute overpowering strength to a religion-crippled civilization that not only cannot build a competitive automobile, but can't even produce a competitive bicycle?

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New York Times attacks New York Police Department for using the critically-acclaimed documentary The Third Jihad: Radical Islam's Vision for America i

2012-01-26T09:10:00.001-05:00

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New York Times attacks New York Police Department for using the critically-acclaimed documentary The Third Jihad: Radical Islam's Vision for America in counterterrorism training.

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The New York Times published the following two articles and one editorial on January 24 & 25 attacking the widely acclaimed film that the New York Police Department was using in counter terrorist training:

• In Police Training, a Dark Film on U.S. Muslims Click here for report.
• In Shift, Police Say Leader Helped With Anti-Islam Film and Now Regrets It Click here for report.
• Hateful film Click here to read editorial.

The film’s producer Raphael Shore issued the following statement according to The Sacramento Bee:

"We regret that the film has been taken out of the counterterrorism training program of the NYPD. The New York Times stories are proof positive that the Clarion Fund's high-quality and impactful documentaries touch very sensitive nerves.

"Those that have blasted the film are attempting to stifle an important debate about the internal state of the Muslim community in America, and whether politicized Islam and indoctrination pose tangible security threats.

"We hope that individuals will acknowledge the inaccuracies presented by the New York Times, and the effects that organizations like CAIR have on the fine line between political correctness and honest debate.” Click here to read full Sacbee.com report.

Pamela Geller wrote about this incredibly un-American assault by the country’s most liberal news paper in her report titled NY Times Wages Holy War On Film, Third Jihad at Atlasshrugs.com Click here to read the full report.

Roger Kaplan also wrote about this insidious attack in The American Spectator in his article titled N.Y. Times Obsesses Over Police Use of Radical Islam Documentary. Click here to read the full report.

The national security of our country is a stake and the New York Times is siding with CAIR against the New York Police. We cannot sit back and allow this liberal bastion to bully law enforcement like this.

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Is The NYT's Agenda to Normalize Islam in the West?

2012-01-25T19:14:00.002-05:00

The Phyllis Chesler Organization

Is The NYT's Agenda to Normalize Islam in the West?

by Phyllis Chesler
Israel National News
January 25, 2012

http://www.phyllis-chesler.com/1065/new-york-times-romney-normalize-islam

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Excerpt:

On a single day, the New York Times has been known to publish anywhere from two to six anti-Israel articles, editorials, op-ed pieces, and letters. Today, I see a new danger arising in their pages.

After spending a year proclaiming the triumph of democracy and the miracle of the Arab Spring and, as PM Netanyahu has just noted, refusing to document the existential danger in which Israel finds herself, the Newspaper of Record has now begun the process of normalizing Islam in North America and Europe. Its pro-Muslim "multicultural" agenda is, paradoxically, another form of racism, but I quibble.

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Eye on Iran: Obama: Iran 'More Isolated Than Ever'

2012-01-25T19:13:00.001-05:00

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Top Stories

VOA: "U.S. President Barack Obama says the world is united in its response to Iran, leaving the country 'more isolated than ever' and its leaders facing 'crippling' sanctions. The president said in an address to the nation Tuesday that he will not rule out any option for preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, but that the issue can be resolved peacefully. 'But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better, and if Iran changes course and meets its obligations, it can rejoin the community of nations.' The president said the pressure on Iran will continue as long as it fails to live up to its responsibilities." http://t.uani.com/Aaod9K

NYT: "As the Obama administration and its European allies toughened economic sanctions against Iran on Monday - blocking its access to the world financial system and undermining its critical oil and gas industry - officials on both sides of the Atlantic acknowledge that their last-ditch effort has only a limited chance of persuading Tehran to abandon what the West fears is its pursuit of nuclear weapons. That leaves open this critical question: And then what? While the United States and Israel have not taken military options off the table, pursuing them is unpalatable, at least for now. Several American and European officials say privately that the most attainable outcome for the West could be for Iran to maintain the knowledge and technology necessary to build a nuclear weapon while stopping short of doing so. That would allow it to assert its sovereignty and save face after years of diplomatic tensions. While that might seem to be a big concession on the part of the United States, Iran would first have to make even bigger ones: demonstrate that it could be trusted and drop its veil of secrecy so that inspectors could verify that its nuclear work was peaceful, steps Iran has resisted." http://t.uani.com/yGo59o

AP: "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has approved increasing bank interest rates to 21 percent, state media reported Wednesday, in a reversal of his earlier opposition to a move economists said was crucial to absorbing liquidity in the market and supporting the Iranian currency. The move came as the rial, under pressure after new U.S. sanctions targeting Iran's Central Bank, shed about 50 percent of its value relative to the dollar in the span of a month. The depreciation built on already mounting worries over the country's growing international isolation over its controversial nuclear program. The European Union earlier this week approved an oil embargo on Iranian crude. 'The president has fully approved' the increase in bank interest rates, Economy Minister Shamseddin Hosseini was quoted by the official IRNA news agency, adding that banks will be notified to change the rates starting Thursday." http://t.uani.com/wD7hcE

Nuclear Program & Sanctions

WSJ: "South Africa's Sasol Ltd. is starting to diversify oil sources away from Iranian imports, it said Wednesday, as pressure from the U.S. and European Union mounts. South Africa, which relies on Iranian crude for roughly 25% of its oil imports, is currently debating how to approach increased sanctions being imposed on Iran by the U.S. and EU, aimed at choking off a key source of revenue from the regime. This week the EU enacted new sanctions on Iran, including a planned oil ban effective July 1 and banking and shipping sanctions. Sasol, the world's largest producer of motor fuels from coal, relies on Iranian oil imports for about 20% of its crude requirement, or 12,000 barrels a day, at its Natref refinery. 'In view of recent developments regarding trade restrictions and possible oil sanctions against Iran, Sasol Oil is diversifying its crude oil sourcing,' a company spokeswoman said, declining to give further details." http://t.uani.com/yLt0Ae

Reuters: "South Korea's imports of Iranian crude surged 20 percent in 2011, data showed on Wednesday, the latest indication of Korea's dependence on the oil even as it faces pressure from its ally the United States to cut back. The rise in Iranian crude imports was more than three times greater than the increase in Korea's overall oil purchases in 2011 and some refineries have indicated they will buy more, not less, from the OPEC producer this year. South Korea, the world's fifth-largest crude importer, will need to reduce its imports soon under U.S. sanctions to support Washington's push to halt Iran's nuclear programme. Crude imports from Iran rose to 238,860 barrels per day (bpd) in 2011 from 198,918 bpd in 2010, the state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) said on Wednesday." http://t.uani.com/wft2Oa

Korea Herald: "The Iranian government attempted to retaliate against Korea in connection with the U.S.-led sanctions of oil imports by demanding that Korean firms tear down their outdoor advertising billboards in Tehran earlier this month, news reports said. The Iranian government ordered Korean firms including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics to demolish their outdoor ads, but withdrew its demand following protests from the Korean Embassy in Tehran, a government official was quoted by the Yonhap news agency as saying. Some outdoor advertisements were torn down in a few parts of Tehran, however, they were all back in place by Jan. 8, the official said... Iran is the top market for Korean goods in the Middle East and the trade activities between Korea and Iran hit a record of $18.5 billion last year, up 60 percent from the previous year." http://t.uani.com/w3wTaN

Reuters: "Australia will follow the European Union's lead in banning oil imports and imposing a range of other sanctions on Iran, Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said on Tuesday. Rudd said later that Australian imports of Iranian oil were already 'negligible'. 'On the question of Iran, let me be absolutely clear (regarding) the actions taken in Brussels yesterday on sanctions by the European Union -- we in Australia will undertake precisely the same parallel action for Australia,' he told reporters during a visit to London." http://t.uani.com/xCjR14

Human Rights

DW: "An Iranian woman who won a 2005 blogging prize from Deutsche Welle was arrested earlier this month in Iran, as part of a recent crackdown against journalists and online activists. Dokouhaki became known for being one of Iran's earliest female bloggers, and her site, Zan-Nevesht (Woman Writer), often took on women's issues, although she has not worked as a journalist in recent years. Iran's supreme court has also confirmed last year's death sentence of Saeed Malekpour, an Iranian-Canadian web developer, who has been held since 2008. Mohammad Solimaninya, who founded a professional social networking site for Iranians, was also recently arrested at his home in Karaj, north of Tehran, on January 20. Marzieh Rasouli, a culture journalist who worked for some of the country's top reformist newspapers, was also taken into custody two days after Dokouhaki, on January 17. According to Reporters Without Borders, three other online journalists and writers were arrested on January 7." http://t.uani.com/zgLg6U

Foreign Affairs

Toronto Star: "Iran's Green Revolution geeks are taking their struggle to cyberspace, but the clerical regime's censors are already there - and gunning for them. 'There is an arms race in cyberspace and it's caught up with Iran,' says Ron Deibert, who heads University of Toronto's Citizen Lab, which monitors the digital media's intersection with human rights. 'It's not the only government to increase Internet surveillance and censorship, but it has ambitions to engage in more sophisticated surveillance of network traffic. We can see that the Iranians are developing fine-grained techniques.' Iran has also stepped up a ground war against its suspected enemies: GTA web designer Saeed Malekpour, along with Internet professionals Vahid Asghari and Ahmad Reza Hasempour, were sentenced to death this month in Iran, as part of a crackdown on people who use cyberspace to spread messages the regime considers subversive." http://t.uani.com/xtCwD1

Opinion & Analysis

Ronen Bergman in NYT: "As the Sabbath evening approached on Jan. 13, Ehud Barak paced the wide living-room floor of his home high above a street in north Tel Aviv, its walls lined with thousands of books on subjects ranging from philosophy and poetry to military strategy. Barak, the Israeli defense minister, is the most decorated soldier in the country's history and one of its most experienced and controversial politicians. He has served as chief of the general staff for the Israel Defense Forces, interior minister, foreign minister and prime minister. He now faces, along with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 12 other members of Iraeli's inner security cabinet, the most important decision of his life - whether to launch a pre-emptive attack against Iran. We met in the late afternoon, and our conversation - the first of several over the next week - lasted for two and a half hours, long past nightfall. 'This is not about some abstract concept,' Barak said as he gazed out at the lights of Tel Aviv, 'but a genuine concern. The Iranians are, after all, a nation whose leaders have set themselves a strategic goal of wiping Israel off the map.' When I mentioned to Barak the opinion voiced by the former Mossad chief Meir Dagan and the former chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi - that the Iranian threat was not as imminent as he and Netanyahu have suggested and that a military strike would be catastrophic (and that they, Barak and Netanyahu, were cynically looking to score populist points at the expense of national security), Barak reacted with uncharacteristic anger. He and Netanyahu, he said, are responsible 'in a very direct and concrete way for the existence of the State of Israel - indeed, for the future of the Jewish people.' As for the top-ranking military personnel with whom I've spoken who argued that an attack on Iran was either unnecessary or would be ineffective at this stage, Barak said: 'It's good to have diversity in thinking and for people to voice their opinions. But at the end of the day, when the military command looks up, it sees us - the minister of defense and the prime minister. When we look up, we see nothing but the sky above us.' Netanyahu and Barak have both repeatedly stressed that a decision has not yet been made and that a deadline for making one has not been set. As we spoke, however, Barak laid out three categories of questions, which he characterized as 'Israel's ability to act,' 'international legitimacy' and 'necessity,' all of which require affirmative responses before a decision is made to attack: 1. Does Israel have the ability to cause severe damage to Iran's nuclear sites and bring about a major delay in the Iranian nuclear project? And can the military and the Israeli people withstand the inevitable counterattack? 2. Does Israel have overt or tacit support, particularly from America, for carrying out an attack? 3. Have all other possibilities for the containment of Iran's nuclear threat been exhausted, bringing Israel to the point of last resort? If so, is this the last opportunity for an attack? For the first time since the Iranian nuclear threat emerged in the mid-1990s, at least some of Israel's most powerful leaders believe that the response to all of these questions is yes." http://t.uani.com/wPsEbc

Mark Heller in IHT: "This week, the European Union went to war against Iran. There was no formal declaration, of course, nor even any undeclared use of military force. But the E.U. decision to place an embargo on Iranian oil imports, ban new contracts, and freeze Iranian Central Bank assets is effectively an act of war and may very well result in the military hostilities that sanctions are meant to forestall. Oil exports account for over 50 percent of Iranian government revenue and about 80 percent of its hard currency earnings. And the E.U., as a bloc, is Iran's second-largest customer, taking about a quarter of Iranian exports. Consequently, unless other customers neutralize E.U. actions by stepping up their own purchases from Iran - and indications from China, Japan and South Korea suggest that this is unlikely to be the case - the E.U. decision, coupled with existing American measures, will come close to imposing the 'crippling sanctions' that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton threatened but could not deliver without European cooperation. If that turns out to be the case, then the Iranian regime, already coping with high inflation and a rapidly depreciating currency, will feel constrained to react. One possibility is that it will capitulate and essentially dismantle its nuclear weapons program. That is obviously the outcome that Europeans and others hope sanctions (or even the credible threat of sanctions) will bring about. But it is at least as likely that Iran, feeling trapped, will lash out in a desperate attempt to frighten the Europeans into backing down or at least introduce so much hysteria into the oil market that price spikes will allow it to earn the same revenue from a reduced volume of exports. One form this might take would be an attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has already threatened to do. But that is probably beyond Iran's capacity for very long and would in any case also shut down Iran's own ability to export to whatever markets it manages to retain. Far less complicated would be sabotage or rocket attacks on refineries, pipelines and other facilities in places like Abqaiq and Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia. These might be carried out as 'false flag' operations by local Shiite insurgents concentrated in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, but nobody would be fooled and the risks of escalation to large-scale conflict with Iran would be significant." http://t.uani.com/xotsMf

Toronto Star Editorial Board: "Shaken by the Arab Spring's drive for reform, rattled by mass protests in major cities and pummeled by sanctions over their nuclear program, Iran's clerical leaders are lashing out at those they blame for defying the regime. Lawyers, rights activists, journalists, students, bloggers and other critics have been hauled before the courts and jailed as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's hardliners try to crush opposition voices, Human Rights Watch reports. And in what Amnesty International calls a 'killing spree of staggering proportions,' the regime has paraded its toughness by executing more than 600 people including children in the past year for offences that range from drug trafficking, to terrorism, spying and sodomy. Now a Canadian resident has been ordered to pay with his life for running afoul of the mullahs as they seek to suppress the Internet as well, the Star's Olivia Ward reports. Saeed Malekpour, an engineer and website designer who makes his home in the Greater Toronto Area, faces the death penalty for the catch-all crime of 'insulting Islam.' His offence? Developing image-uploading software that was used - by others, he says - to post pornographic images. He was charged on a trip to Iran in 2008, and the country's high court has just reconfirmed his death sentence. During his time in prison he says he was stripped by interrogators, beaten, flogged and threatened with rape. Canadians who remember photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who was beaten to death in 2003 in a Tehran prison after covering a student protest, will not find Malekpour's plight hard to believe. And he's not the only Canadian on death row. So is Toronto resident Hamid Ghassemi-Shall, on spy charges. The authorities may well be making an example of Malekpour to warn others - including political activists - away from using the Internet for unauthorized purposes." http://t.uani.com/xmGuJU

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