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AFP: "A Congressional panel released a report that alleges that Iran's elite Al-Quds force offers support to Al-Qaeda, adding a new dimension to the militant threat to the United States. In its report to the Congressional Anti-Terrorism Caucus, the strategic advisory firm Kronos highlighted what it says are increasingly strong links between the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps force and Al-Qaeda. The report was released by the caucus after US troops killed Osama bin Laden in a raid in Pakistan that raised fresh doubts about Pakistan's willingness or ability to track down Al-Qaeda suspects. 'Iran has quietly forged a strong working relationship with core al-Qaeda's leaders,' said the report's author Michael S. Smith II. 'This relationship has been established to counter American influence in the Middle East and South Asia,' according to his report. 'Through it, Iran will likely also help Al-Qaeda mobilize terrorists to carry out attacks against the US and our allies, providing the support required to extend Al-Qaeda's operational reach,' the report added. Smith argued that not enough attention has been paid to the links between the two entities because of a 'pervasive' belief that Shiite and non-Arab Iran will not work with the Sunni Arab militants of Al-Qaeda." http://t.uani.com/iwPIXJ
AP: "Israel's defense minister says even if Iran develops nuclear arms, it is unlikely to bomb Israel. Defense Minister Ehud Barak's comments appear to be an attempt to prepare a jittery Israel for the possibility of Tehran getting a nuclear weapon. The remarks were published Thursday in the Haaretz newspaper... Haaretz asked whether Barak thought Iran would drop a nuclear bomb on Israel. The minister responded: 'Not on us and not on any other neighbor.' However, Barak cautioned that it's impossible to predict Iran's behavior." http://t.uani.com/kGzWLD
AP: "An American woman released from prison in Iran says she won't go back to stand trial there alongside two fellow hikers charged with spying for the U.S. Sarah Shourd told The Associated Press on Wednesday that she is suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and returning would be 'far too traumatic after what I've already been through.' ... Shourd said she was diagnosed with PTSD by clinical forensic psychologist Barry Rosenfeld. She said the five-page psychological evaluation had been sent to the Iranian Revolutionary Court. Shourd said she had not heard back in response to her refusal to go back for trial on the grounds that she risked 'renewed or even worse psychological problems' if she returns. 'My own mental health makes me even more afraid for what is happening with Shane and Josh,' Shourd said. 'I was there for 14 months and Shane and Josh have now been there for over 21 months. So I can't imagine the toll it's taken on them.'" http://t.uani.com/kecBnv
Nuclear Program & Sanctions
AFP: "Osama bin Laden's killing amounts to a 'big failure' for Washington, Iranian Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on Wednesday, as he cast doubt on the US decision to bury the Al-Qaeda chief at sea. 'The United States says it has achieved success with the death of bin Laden, but .... it actually is a big failure,' Vahidi said, quoted by Iran's state news agency IRNA. 'The United States forced 10 years of war on three countries (Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan), left a million people dead and spent more than 1,000 billion dollars to kill one person.' Vahidi spoke of 'ambiguities' over bin Laden's death. The Americans 'said they threw his body in the sea. Why did they not allowed an independent expert to examine the body to say if it was bin Laden or not?' the defence chief asked." http://t.uani.com/luqtA5
CNN: "With Osama bin Laden dead, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is now the biggest threat to peace in the world, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday. 'He runs the country and he is infused with fanaticism,' Netanyahu told CNN, arguing that Iran's supreme leader was more worrying than its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as the Islamic republic pursues a controversial nuclear program. 'If the Iranian regime gets atomic bombs, it will change history,' he warned. 'The future of the world -- the future of the Middle East -- is certainly at stake.' Ever-tighter U.S. and international sanctions against Iran must be backed up by the threat of force, he insisted. 'Those sanctions might work if the international community makes it clear that there is a credible military option if sanctions don't work,' he said." http://t.uani.com/jLQj7s
Human Rights
AFP: "The lawyer for three US hikers detained in Iran since 2009 for alleged spying said on Thursday he is 'hopeful' of a verdict within the next week. Sarah Shourd 32, her fiance Shane Bauer 28 and their friend Josh Fattal 28, were hiking in the mountains of northern Iraq close to Iran's border when they were arrested on July 31, 2009 after allegedly straying into Iranian territory. Iran allowed Shourd to return home on bail of around 500,000 dollars in September 2010 on humanitarian and medical grounds. 'I am very optimistic and hopeful that with the court being understanding, the case will be resolved. I hope that the verdict is issued after this session,' Masoud Shafii told AFP, referring to the May 11 hearing." http://t.uani.com/lAkvlB
Domestic Politics
Reuters: "Iran has publicly welcomed the Arab world's upheaval as an 'Islamic awakening' that will see off Western-backed dictators and enhance Tehran's regional power but the turmoil also poses risks for the Islamic Republic. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has declared the new Iranian year, which started on March 21, as one of 'economic jihad' where Iran's economic advances will prove the ineffectiveness of foreign sanctions that have hampered its ability to secure foreign investment in its energy sector. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has moved to scotch speculation of a rift with Khamenei after his attempt to sack his intelligence minister, a move vetoed by the supreme leader. Wthout Khamenei's backing, Ahmadinejad would risk becoming a lame duck, unable to pursue his policy agenda and with his political future at risk. One of the biggest risks is the possibility of soaring inflation as huge subsidies are cut, which could stir further discontent against the government after it faced down efforts to rekindle political protests by the opposition Green movement." http://t.uani.com/kBw51X
Bloomberg: "An Iranian cleric and presidential aide has been detained for backing a film about a key figure in the Shiite Muslim faith, state media reported. Abbas Amirifar, who heads President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cultural council, was summoned by a special clerical court and arrested, the state-run Fars news agency reported May 2 without giving details. Tehran Prosecutor-General Abbas Jafari- Dolatabadi declined to elaborate when asked today about accusations against Amirifar, Fars said. Amirifar was arrested due to his cooperation in the making and distribution of a film entitled 'The Coming Is Near,' the state-run Iranian Students News Agency reported, citing Jafari- Dolatabadi. The film suggests that the Mahdi, the Messiah-figure of Shiite Islam, is to appear soon." http://t.uani.com/jhwAIb
Bloomberg: "A legal case has been filed against Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the state-run Iranian Students News Agency reported, citing Tehran Prosecutor-General Abbas Jafari- Dolatabadi. Dolatabadi declined to elaborate on the case, saying only that it's been filed because of some media interviews Faezeh has given, according to ISNA. Faezeh, has criticized Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and been arrested twice for joining anti-government rallies. In an interview with the magazine Foreign Policy last year, she accused the government of making up statistics and criticized Ahmadinejad's handling of the country's affairs." http://t.uani.com/l2pvNB
Opinion & Analysis
Suzanne Maloney in Brookings: "The death of Osama bin Laden highlights what a difference a decade makes, even for a country as seemingly unchanging as the Islamic Republic of Iran. Ten years ago, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Iranians and their government responded with sympathetic outrage. Tehran was the scene of spontaneous candlelight vigils by ordinary Iranians and a temporary suspension of the weekly chants of 'death to America' by its official clergy. An array of Iranian officials, many with reformist political leanings, offered seemingly heartfelt condolences to the American people, and even the hardest-line elements of Iran's leadership briefly summoned the moral decency to denounce al Qaeda, its leader Bin Laden and the use of terrorism against Americans. Over the course of subsequent weeks and months, Tehran provided crucial logistical assistance to the U.S. campaign against the Taliban and cooperated closely with Washington in establishing a new Afghan government. For a short time, the prospects for ending the bitter estrangement between the two countries and for Iran's return to the community of nations seemed for the first-time truly conceivable. In fact, the post-attack spirit of reconciliation between Tehran and Washington proved predictably fleeting - cooperation foundered, mistrust intensified, and Iran's internal politics regressed into paranoia and repression. And nearly ten years later, Tehran greeted this week's news that U.S. forces had killed bin Laden with far more cynicism than sympathy. The Foreign Ministry opined in a frosty tone that bin Laden's death vitiates any need for U.S. presence in the broader Middle East, and used the news as an opportunity tocall on Washington to remove all its troops from the region. A number of other Iranian officials and press outlets indulged in the crass conspiracy theories promulgated most infamously by their current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose hateful repertoire includes calling the 9/11 attacks a 'big fabrication' and accusing the U.S. government of complicity in them. Rather than creating new traction for bilateral cooperation on an area of common interest such as Afghanistan, the death of bin Laden only highlights the durability and mutual hostility remnant in the standoff between Washington and Tehran." http://t.uani.com/mDhSnq
Jennifer Rubin in WashPost: "A quartet of lawmakers have banded together to raise the prospect of human right sanctions against Iran. A press release reads, in part: 'The Iran Human Rights and Democracy Promotion Act of 2011, sponsored by Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in the Senate and by Congressman Robert Dold (R-Ill.) and Congressman Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) in the House, would make it the policy of the United States to deny the Iranian regime the ability to oppress the people of Iran, to fully support democratic activists inside Iran, and to help the Iranian people freely and safely access and share information. The bipartisan legislation would establish a Special Representative on Human Rights and Democracy in Iran with budget authority over all relevant funding and impose sanctions on companies that sell or service products that enable the Iranian regime to oppress its people. It would require a comprehensive strategy to promote Internet freedom in Iran and reauthorize the Iran Freedom Support Act.' ... Michael Singh of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy thinks this is a positive step. He told me this afternoon, 'Morally and strategically, supporting human rights and democracy in Iran is the right thing to do. The more we can call attention to the Iranian regime's repressive practices and put tools in the hands of those pushing back, the better. This should be not just a bipartisan effort, but a public-private effort, with technology companies and other firms doing their part as well.' He adds that 'the Administration has seemed hesitant in the past to support democracy activists, but with the changes sweeping the region I hope they would now be firmly behind these sorts of efforts and work in partnership with Congress and rally international support as well.' That remains to be seen. But perhaps with Obama's newfound affection for tough, unilateral action, he and his advisers will look favorably on the human rights legislation." http://t.uani.com/jdBKQ3
Steve Forbes in Forbes: "The extraordinary U.S. intelligence and military operations that brought down Osama bin Laden give us a surge of global credibility and power. Riding this wave, we should push boldly on two critical fronts in the Middle East. The first encompasses Iran and Syria. Regarding the murderous mullahs, take off the gloves and vigorously support the growing dissident movement inside that oppressed, dangerous country. Our model should be what we did for Solidarity in Poland during the 1980s, when that anti-Communist movement--with critical U.S. support in terms of resources and diplomacy--undermined Poland's Soviet-backed puppet regime. President Obama's response to Iran has been shocking. Even though he has at least expressed support for individual regime opponents, our efforts have been comparatively diffident and feeble. Make no mistake, Iran is the world's terrorism central. Its drive for nuclear weapons--and the means to deliver them via missiles--is profoundly disturbing. It could mean the annihilation of Israel. At a minimum, this would set off a nuclear arms race in the most unstable part of the world... The Administration's Middle East incoherence has had the effect of strengthening Iran in that critical region at a time of intensifying internal opposition to the mullahs. Helping undermine the Syrian government is crucial to redressing this growing imbalance." http://t.uani.com/lPIOb5
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